Marathon Asset Management Ltd Sells 40,819 Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 382,720 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 40,819 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned 0.18% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $12,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXTA. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 14,615 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $350,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 180,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,164,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 156.4% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased 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 research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.44.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

NYSE AXTA traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,057,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,090,944. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $41.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $31.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.39.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 26.30%. Axalta Coating Systems's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.