Man Group plc Decreases Position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Man Group plc reduced its position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 145,542 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.17% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $12,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,321,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $387,439,000 after purchasing an additional 988,397 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,280,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $386,032,000 after acquiring an additional 50,520 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,598,172 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $225,789,000 after buying an additional 82,200 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,587,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $191,190,000 after buying an additional 1,980,296 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,874,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $132,568,000 after acquiring an additional 93,298 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company's stock.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AXTA traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,792,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,086. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $41.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.38.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AXTA shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $37.00 price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.38.

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.