PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Position Boosted by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 254,358 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,567 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.11% of PPG Industries worth $30,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPG. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,552,100,000 after acquiring an additional 491,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after buying an additional 485,597 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,757,000 after buying an additional 354,740 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 189.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 426,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,538,000 after buying an additional 279,455 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,474,000 after acquiring an additional 206,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

NYSE:PPG opened at $114.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.23. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.20 and a 12 month high of $145.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 57.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries 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.