Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 3,905 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,905 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $13,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 50,247 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 19,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PPG Industries by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Walnut Level Capital LLC raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 397.2% in the 4th quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC now owns 124,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,926,000 after acquiring an additional 167,000 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $107.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.23. 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 $24.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.64 and a fifty-two week high of $145.61.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PPG shares. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.