Essex Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. State Street Corp grew its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,552,100,000 after buying an additional 491,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after acquiring an additional 485,597 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $403,049,000 after acquiring an additional 170,339 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after purchasing an additional 15,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $248,650,000 after purchasing an additional 36,047 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $114.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.73. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.20 and a 12 month high of $145.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. Analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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 Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.46.

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.