Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,917 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 9,553 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $4,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AXTA stock opened at $32.27 on Friday. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 1-year low of $27.70 and a 1-year high of $41.66. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.87.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AXTA shares. Wolfe Research raised Axalta Coating Systems from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.36.

Insider Activity at Axalta Coating Systems

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total value of $392,869.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,905 shares in the company, valued at $2,814,180.85. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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