Prospector Partners LLC Acquires 8,269 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 144,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,269 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries comprises approximately 2.0% of Prospector Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $19,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.93.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:PPG opened at $125.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.07 and a 1 year high of $151.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.34.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.11%.

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.