Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 929 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,990 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 929 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $6,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 465.1% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Down 0.5 %

PPG opened at $122.06 on Wednesday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.07 and a 52 week high of $150.82. The company has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PPG shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.93.

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.