PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Guardian Asset Advisors LLC

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,505 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $118.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.20 and a 52-week high of $145.60. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

PPG Industries Profile

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.