Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Buys New Shares in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,552,100,000 after purchasing an additional 491,774 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 485,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $403,049,000 after buying an additional 170,339 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after acquiring an additional 15,161 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 2.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $248,650,000 after acquiring an additional 36,047 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.23.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPG opened at $120.14 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.80. The company has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.00 and a twelve month high of $145.86.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.