Heartland Advisors Inc. Trims Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,863 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.05% of PPG Industries worth $14,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,263,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in PPG Industries by 13.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 346,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,673,000 after acquiring an additional 41,167 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in PPG Industries by 68.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,757,000 after acquiring an additional 354,740 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Down 3.2 %

PPG stock opened at $108.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $24.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.64 and a 52 week high of $145.61.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the subject of several research reports. Argus downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

About PPG Industries

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.