PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 8,119 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $13,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 11,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 358,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,512,000 after acquiring an additional 35,571 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,224,000 after acquiring an additional 20,226 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 8,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $22,048,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PPG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $134.21 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.15. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.32 and a 52 week high of $152.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $31.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently 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.