Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 318 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Harfst & Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PPG shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.15.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $115.07 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.15. The stock has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.23. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.20 and a 12-month high of $145.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 57.51%.

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.