PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd cut its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,643 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,828 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries comprises approximately 0.9% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $7,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,508,210,000 after acquiring an additional 756,937 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 4.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 485,597 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $381,876,000 after buying an additional 1,858,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PPG Industries by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $403,049,000 after buying an additional 170,339 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PPG. StockNews.com cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $111.88 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.45. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.25 and a twelve month high of $145.61.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its 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%. On average, research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.