Vestcor Inc Has $439,000 Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,671 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $113.85 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.16. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $109.15 and a one year high of $145.61. The stock has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, 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 (NYSE:PPG) last issued 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PPG shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 insiders.

About PPG Industries

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.