Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 20,226 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 137.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,226 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $5,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $133.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.69 and a 200-day moving average of $138.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 6.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 48.69%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $173.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays cut PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $163.00 to $149.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.40.

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.