Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $34,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPG. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $114.88 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.20 and a 1 year high of $145.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Company Profile

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.