Smithfield Trust Co Sells 7,142 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Smithfield Trust Co decreased its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,732 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,142 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries accounts for 1.0% of Smithfield Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Smithfield Trust Co owned about 0.05% of PPG Industries worth $18,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $509,000. First Western Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 2,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 25,252 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Finally, GDS Wealth Management purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $477,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PPG. Evercore ISI lowered shares of PPG Industries from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $152.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, 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 available at the SEC website. In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction 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 $4,008,192.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG Industries stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $135.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,078,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,993. The company has a market cap of $31.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.07. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

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

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.

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