Natixis Sells 4,306 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Natixis reduced its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,306 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $470,535,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $381,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,895 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,567,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,262,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590,041 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $107,850,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,508,210,000 after acquiring an additional 756,937 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PPG shares. Argus downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $135.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.65. 1,937,700 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,298. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.24 and a 52-week high of $137.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

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.