Stephens Inc. AR Trims Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 465.1% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG stock opened at $114.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.20 and a 12-month high of $145.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 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, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

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.