Ieq Capital LLC Raises Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 97.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,729 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. State Street Corp raised its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,552,100,000 after buying 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 68.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,757,000 after buying an additional 354,740 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 189.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 426,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,538,000 after purchasing an additional 279,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in PPG Industries by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,474,000 after buying an additional 206,853 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $114.88 on Monday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.20 and a 52-week high of $145.60. 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’s fifty day moving average is $118.29 and its 200 day moving average is $123.28. The company has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.