Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Makes New Investment in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 12,429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXTA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,139,000 after buying an additional 10,802 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 100,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 265,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,078,000 after acquiring an additional 19,692 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter worth $260,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter worth $941,000. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axalta Coating Systems

In related news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total transaction of $392,869.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXTA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Citigroup cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $29.73 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $41.66.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.