Generali Investments Management Co LLC Makes New Investment in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Tower Group LLC boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $5,062,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PPG. Citigroup cut their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG opened at $113.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $145.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. As a group, analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.