Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 482.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,337,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,592,655 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries makes up about 1.7% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 1.87% of PPG Industries worth $518,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPG. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG stock traded up $3.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.76. 1,269,057 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,780,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.24 and a 1-year high of $137.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $107.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.71. The firm has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's payout ratio is 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PPG. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.