Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Reduces Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPG. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $868,000. Equity Investment Corp increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 7.0% during the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $86,006,000 after purchasing an additional 42,380 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $604,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,050,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $340,654,000 after buying an additional 15,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho cut their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price target (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.23.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $123.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.74. The company has a market cap of $28.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.00 and a 12-month high of $145.60.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.11%.

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.