PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly reduced its stake in PPG Industries by 77.1%, now holding approximately 0.44% of the company valued at $108.65 million.
• Analysts have varying opinions on PPG, with nine analysts rating it as a hold, six as a buy, and one as a strong buy, resulting in an average target price of $129.82.
• PPG Industries announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.71 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield, up from the previous $0.68.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 77.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 993,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,344,051 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.44% of PPG Industries worth $108,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 70.6% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 74.6% during the first quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 351 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Fermium Researc raised shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine investment 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.82.

PPG Industries Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE PPG opened at $112.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $112.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.02. The company has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.17. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $137.24.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 23.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from PPG Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.40%.

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.

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