PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 425,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 18,189 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $63,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $129.23 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89. The stock has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.