Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 56,640 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 50.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,640 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.07% of PPG Industries worth $20,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PPG. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $135.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.31.

PPG Industries Stock Up 1.6 %

PPG opened at $100.00 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.24 and a fifty-two week high of $137.24. The company has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. 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 fifty day moving average price is $109.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.95.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.