Sit Investment Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 99.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 34,760 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $42,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 74,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,914,000 after purchasing an additional 8,905 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 10.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 36,422 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,824,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 146.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 7,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,488 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $617,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $838,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG opened at $96.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.01 and a 52-week high of $142.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.21. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. Equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.77.

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.