Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 600 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in PPG Industries by 4.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 491,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 485,597 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 68.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,757,000 after purchasing an additional 354,740 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 279,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,474,000 after acquiring an additional 206,853 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.1 %

PPG Industries stock opened at $117.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.20 and a fifty-two week high of $145.60. The company has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.44.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

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.