PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,237 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $3,508,210,000 after acquiring an additional 756,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,567,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,262,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590,041 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 93,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in PPG Industries by 6.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 482.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,337,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $518,132,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,655 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Price Performance

NYSE:PPG opened at $113.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $107.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.72. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.24 and a 52-week high of $137.24. The firm has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.17.

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

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid 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 yield of 2.41%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on PPG Industries from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.42.

PPG Industries Company 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.