Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 35.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 31.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the period. 98.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE AXTA opened at $29.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 52 week low of $27.70 and a 52 week high of $41.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.30% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXTA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Axalta Coating Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.47.

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. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.