Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,605,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 568,562 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $191,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $1,513,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 3,338,384 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $398,770,000 after buying an additional 10,116 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $870,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 50,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,059,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 140,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,729,000 after acquiring an additional 18,286 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries 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 directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPG. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.0 %

PPG Industries stock opened at $107.32 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.17. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.64 and a 1-year high of $145.61. The company has a market cap of $24.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:PPG) last issued 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, sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

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.