O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $2.93 Million Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,543 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,513,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 3,338,384 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $398,770,000 after buying an additional 10,116 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $870,000. DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 50,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,059,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in PPG Industries by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 140,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,729,000 after acquiring an additional 18,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $104.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.73. The stock has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.89 and a 52-week high of $143.98. 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 (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.61%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PPG shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.77.

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.