Barclays PLC Sells 506,492 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Barclays PLC lessened its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 635,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 506,492 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $75,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PPG. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price target (down from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Tuesday. Argus cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.31.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.1 %

PPG opened at $98.48 on Thursday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.24 and a fifty-two week high of $137.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $109.95 and its 200 day moving average is $118.48. 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 posted 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%. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.