Boston Partners Cuts Holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Boston Partners cut its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 50.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,670,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,708,155 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 3.01% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $218,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXTA. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 65.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 25,806,208 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $781,670,000 after acquiring an additional 10,208,408 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,744,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $436,886,000 after acquiring an additional 284,713 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 1.2% in the first quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 16,650,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,329,000 after acquiring an additional 203,083 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 31.6% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,816,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $297,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358,255 shares during the period. Finally, Shapiro Capital Management LLC raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 12.8% in the first quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 9,477,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $232,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,872 shares during the period. 98.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

AXTA stock opened at $30.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a one year low of $24.86 and a one year high of $33.68. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.48.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Mclaughlin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $148,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 92,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,160.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert M. Mclaughlin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $148,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 92,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,160.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin M. Stein purchased 36,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.38 per share, with a total value of $1,002,108.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,108. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.29.

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. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings. The company offers water and solvent-borne products and systems to repair damaged vehicles for independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) dealership body shops.