Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,854 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 7,255 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 35.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. ASB Consultores LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11.1% during the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 9,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 1.4 %

Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $31.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.51. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $25.03 and a fifty-two week high of $34.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.61.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.70.

About Axalta Coating Systems

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.