Two Sigma Advisers LP Reduces Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Two Sigma Advisers LP decreased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 85.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 122,700 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $470,535,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 482.2% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 3,592,655 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 815.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,031,164 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $362,074,000 after buying an additional 2,700,018 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $381,876,000 after buying an additional 1,858,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 17.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,590,041 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG traded up $0.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $111.24. 1,491,940 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,823,719. 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 company has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.46. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.24 and a 52-week high of $137.24.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.10. The firm 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.