Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 53,222 Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 62.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 138,081 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,222 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.06% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $5,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,669,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $132,823,000 after purchasing an additional 31,894 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 36,191 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,310,000 after buying an additional 14,704 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 896,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,623,000 after buying an additional 25,717 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 126.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 794,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,817,000 after buying an additional 443,946 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Institutional investors own 98.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AXTA shares. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 0.3 %

Axalta Coating Systems stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.44. The stock had a trading volume of 428,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,009,088. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a one year low of $30.40 and a one year high of $41.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.