Man Group plc Trims Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Man Group plc trimmed its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 67.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 227,663 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $13,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.8%

PPG opened at $113.99 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.24 and a twelve month high of $137.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. PPG Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PPG. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.42.

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.