Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $9.89 Million in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 82,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,892,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.77.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $98.98 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.49 and a 1-year high of $142.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.74 and a 200-day moving average of $120.44.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.