PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,971 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PPG. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $135.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 price target (down from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned 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 $128.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG Industries stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.32. 1,654,754 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,801,658. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.24 and a 1 year high of $137.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. 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's 50 day moving average price is $106.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.59.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. The company 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%. PPG Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.