First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Has $11.69 Million Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries comprises approximately 2.6% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $11,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Vertical Research raised shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.47.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE PPG opened at $130.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.31 and its 200-day moving average is $138.86.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.92%.

PPG Industries 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.