PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,230 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PPG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 163,082.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,157,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $522,813,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,341 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 602,706.2% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,640,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $331,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,853 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $318,155,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 280.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,734,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $227,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $427,580,000 after purchasing an additional 959,849 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $133.52 on Wednesday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.32 and a twelve month high of $152.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.93.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.04. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 6.96%. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $173.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.40.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.