Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Holdings Lessened by Essex Investment Management Co. LLC

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 58.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,549 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,321,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,439,000 after purchasing an additional 988,397 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,822,955 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $246,923,000 after purchasing an additional 46,813 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,669,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $132,823,000 after purchasing an additional 31,894 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,096,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,883,000 after acquiring an additional 84,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,991,660 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,078,000 after acquiring an additional 205,085 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $45.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.08.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 3.8 %

AXTA stock opened at $33.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $30.41 and a 1 year high of $41.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.45.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total transaction of $392,869.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,180.85. The trade was a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Axalta Coating Systems Company 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.