FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Takes Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH purchased a new stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,538 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 84.9% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $139.91 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $141.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.04. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $163.00 to $149.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.93.

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.