PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,210 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries accounts for 0.5% of Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 10,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 87,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,024,000 after buying an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.50.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

PPG traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $130.52. 1,642,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,792,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.55. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.91.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.