PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Short Interest Update

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,370,000 shares, a decline of 20.3% from the March 15th total of 4,230,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’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 owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 456 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 373 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,288 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 cut their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.31.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PPG traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $99.45. 1,902,389 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,791,009. The firm has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $90.24 and a 12-month high of $137.24.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

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.