New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 30,600 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 30,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of PPG Industries worth $33,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PPG Industries stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $130.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,370,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,539. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.86. The company has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries's payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PPG. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.47.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.