Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 206,853 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 65.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 206,853 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $62,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $117.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.00 and a fifty-two week high of $145.86. The stock has a market cap of $27.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.66 and a 200-day moving average of $124.91.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results 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). PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.29.

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.