River Global Investors LLP Decreases Stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

River Global Investors LLP decreased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 476 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 9,161 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 626,992 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,298,000 after purchasing an additional 99,626 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 1,856.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,866,601 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $199,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,757 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter worth $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 1.1 %

Axalta Coating Systems stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.20. 3,991,263 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,581,191. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.95. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.51. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $25.03 and a 1 year high of $35.31.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.08. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 21.82% and a net margin of 4.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AXTA. KeyCorp raised their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Axalta Coating Systems Profile

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.