Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,333,319 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 132,640 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.60% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $43,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 25,806,208 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $781,670,000 after buying an additional 10,208,408 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 5,915.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,193,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $132,290,000 after buying an additional 5,107,608 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 438.8% in the 1st quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,736,773 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $113,187,000 after buying an additional 3,043,178 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 68.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,639,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $201,124,000 after buying an additional 2,692,774 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,816,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $297,344,000 after buying an additional 2,358,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AXTA opened at $31.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.43. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a one year low of $24.86 and a one year high of $33.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 4.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, SVP Brian A. Berube sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.19, for a total value of $233,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 44,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,385,085.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Axalta Coating Systems news, VP Anthony Massey sold 17,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.88, for a total value of $553,215.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $599,689.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian A. Berube sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.19, for a total transaction of $233,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,385,085.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,415 shares of company stock worth $935,990. Corporate 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. 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.