American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. $AXTA

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has decreased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 27.7%, now holding 257,551 shares valued at approximately $8.54 million.
• Other institutional investors have been active as well, with notable increases, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosting its holdings by 3.2% to own shares worth around $386 million.
• Axalta reported a net margin of 8.58% and a year-over-year revenue decline of 3.4%, with earnings per share coming in at $0.64, exceeding analysts' expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 27.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 98,466 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.12% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $8,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 951.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Shares of AXTA stock traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $31.24. 1,300,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,737,749. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.72. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $41.65.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Axalta Coating Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.450-2.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.630-0.670 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXTA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut Axalta Coating Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $51.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.71.

Insider Activity

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, SVP Amy Tufano sold 3,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $99,205.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,087 shares in the company, valued at $375,422.22. This trade represents a 20.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.