PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Rating Lowered to Hold at Argus

Argus cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

PPG has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup 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 Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced 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. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Trading Down 2.1 %

PPG opened at $111.00 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.50. The firm has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries has a twelve month low of $109.15 and a twelve month high of $145.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $470,535,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 482.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,337,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $518,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,655 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 815.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,031,164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $362,074,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700,018 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,895 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,567,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,262,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590,041 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.