Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,012 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,345 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 9.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 26,493 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in PPG Industries by 88.7% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 6,319 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,970 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in PPG Industries by 90.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in PPG Industries by 3.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 6,701 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at $2,603,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PPG. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:PPG opened at $110.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $145.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.78.

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

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.51%.

About PPG Industries

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.