AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. $AXTA

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 38.2%, selling 357,221 shares, and now holds 577,660 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million.
• Despite AQR's reduction, several other investors have increased their holdings, with Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosting its position by 105.9% during the same quarter.
• Axalta recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.64, exceeding expectations slightly but facing a 3.4% year-over-year revenue decline.

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 38.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 577,660 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 357,221 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.26% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $18,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXTA. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 144.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,950,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $66,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153,620 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 200.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 481,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,483,000 after acquiring an additional 321,279 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 15,983 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 6,012 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Axalta Coating Systems stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $30.92. 1,656,791 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,215,046. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $41.65. The business's 50-day moving average is $30.25 and its 200-day moving average is $31.24.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXTA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 18th. Zacks Research raised Axalta Coating Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Amy Tufano sold 3,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $99,205.64. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,422.22. This represents a 20.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.