KBC Group NV Trims Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 349,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,912 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.15% of PPG Industries worth $46,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at $46,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG opened at $123.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.90. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.07 and a 52-week high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

PPG Industries 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.