Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,110 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $7,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz SE purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,513,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 3,338,384 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $398,770,000 after buying an additional 10,116 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $870,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 50,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,059,000 after buying an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in PPG Industries by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 140,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,729,000 after acquiring an additional 18,286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $109.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.64 and a twelve month high of $145.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.05.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Argus cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Company 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.