PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $135.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.15.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $98.53 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $139.01.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.