Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 83.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,637 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPG. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,552,100,000 after buying an additional 491,774 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,189,095,000 after purchasing an additional 485,597 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 68.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,757,000 after purchasing an additional 354,740 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 189.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 426,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,538,000 after purchasing an additional 279,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,474,000 after purchasing an additional 206,853 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PPG opened at $122.94 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.00 and a 1 year high of $145.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.24.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PPG. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.23.

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.