Empirical Finance LLC Decreases Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PPG. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $868,000. Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,006,000 after acquiring an additional 42,380 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $604,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,050,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after purchasing an additional 15,161 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $114.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.81. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.20 and a 1-year high of $145.60. 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 $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PPG shares. KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price target (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.46.

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.