Synovus Financial Corp Sells 680 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,508,210,000 after purchasing an additional 756,937 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,567,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,262,234,000 after buying an additional 1,590,041 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PPG Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,546,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $660,752,000 after acquiring an additional 93,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,726,630 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $564,596,000 after purchasing an additional 271,699 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $470,535,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $100.00 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 stock has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $137.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.04.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Argus downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.31.

PPG Industries Profile

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.