PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.15.

PPG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $107.32 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.17. PPG Industries has a twelve month low of $105.64 and a twelve month high of $145.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPG. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in PPG Industries by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 546,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,225,000 after purchasing an additional 28,934 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,814,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $25,156,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

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.