Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,816 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,552,100,000 after purchasing an additional 491,774 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after buying an additional 485,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $403,049,000 after buying an additional 170,339 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after buying an additional 15,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $248,650,000 after acquiring an additional 36,047 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PPG shares. KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.23.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $122.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.00 and a 52-week high of $145.60. The firm has a market cap of $28.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $121.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.58.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. On average, research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

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.