Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,035,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 942,188 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $172,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 168.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,481 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 18,496 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,909,000 after purchasing an additional 381,488 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,940 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 139.9% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $326,000. 98.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $31.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 1-year low of $30.41 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AXTA shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total value of $392,869.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Axalta Coating Systems

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.