Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 356 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $53,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the 4th 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. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $130.73. 859,567 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,209. The firm has a market cap of $30.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.97. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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 firm’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 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.