Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA – Get Rating) by 30.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXTA. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Standard Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Ellevest Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 31.5% during the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 7,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.73.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 21.80% and a net margin of 4.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axalta Coating Systems Profile

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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. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Transportation Coatings. The company offers water and solvent-borne products and systems to repair damaged vehicles for independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) dealership body shops.

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