Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 437,715 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 83.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 437,715 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $9,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,508,210,000 after purchasing an additional 756,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 worth $1,262,234,000 after buying an additional 1,590,041 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $660,752,000 after buying an additional 93,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,726,630 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $564,596,000 after buying an additional 271,699 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 482.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,337,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $518,132,000 after buying an additional 3,592,655 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Down 5.2%

NYSE:PPG traded down $5.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.25. 2,499,615 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,831,065. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.24 and a twelve month high of $137.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.69 and a 200 day moving average of $113.50. The stock has a market cap of $24.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.17.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PPG. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set 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 target price on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on PPG Industries from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.83.

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.