Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 450 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPG. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 105,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,531,000 after purchasing an additional 54,903 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 25,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,798,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 12,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PPG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.9 %

PPG Industries stock opened at $134.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.15. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.32 and a fifty-two week high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. PPG Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

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.