Northern Financial Advisors Inc Takes $350,000 Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc bought a new position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,931 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,552,100,000 after buying an additional 491,774 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PPG Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after acquiring an additional 485,597 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PPG Industries by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $403,049,000 after purchasing an additional 170,339 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 15,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $248,650,000 after purchasing an additional 36,047 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG opened at $118.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $27.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.20 and a 12-month high of $145.60.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PPG. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.