Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $328,000 Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 96.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,749 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 80,585 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPG. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus lowered shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Fermium Researc raised shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.42.

PPG Industries Stock Up 2.0%

PPG Industries stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $112.33. 482,240 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,187,306. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.24 and a 1-year high of $137.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.50. The stock has a market cap of $25.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is 58.24%.

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.