Natixis Sells 4,306 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Natixis lowered its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,306 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPG. StockNews.com lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.31.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG opened at $99.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.07 and its 200 day moving average is $117.68. The company has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.24 and a 12-month high of $137.24. 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 (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

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.