Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Sells 100 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,781 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in PPG Industries by 15.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 39,801 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,329 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 0.6% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 92,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,209,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 79.3% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,207 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after buying an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Up 4.5 %

PPG stock opened at $114.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $145.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $117.04 and its 200 day moving average is $122.87.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 57.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.