PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $115.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $145.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $117.75 on Wednesday. The firm 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 fifty day simple moving average of $119.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries has a 12 month low of $110.20 and a 12 month high of $145.60.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. Analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $868,000. Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 7.0% during the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,006,000 after purchasing an additional 42,380 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at about $604,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,050,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after buying an additional 15,161 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.