Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE PPG opened at $134.21 on Wednesday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $137.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.