Van ECK Associates Corp Has $4.79 Million Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $4,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $1,552,100,000 after buying an additional 491,774 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 68.3% during 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $56,538,000 after purchasing an additional 279,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,474,000 after purchasing an additional 206,853 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PPG opened at $119.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $118.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.36. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.20 and a 52-week high of $145.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. On average, analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.