PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,492 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $15,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PPG stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $130.52. 1,642,353 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,792,330. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The stock has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $139.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.91.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries's payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PPG Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.50.

About PPG Industries

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.