AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 22.3%, owning a total of 3,290,411 shares valued at approximately $328.58 million after buying an additional 600,901 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and GAMMA Investing, also significantly increased their positions in Axis Capital, indicating strong interest and confidence in the stock.
• Axis Capital's stock has a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with an average price target of $111.43, reflecting optimism for its future performance.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,290,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 600,901 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 4.18% of Axis Capital worth $328,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,972 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 440,763 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,060,000 after acquiring an additional 71,553 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,611 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,070 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of AXS traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 612,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,259. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $74.68 and a 52 week high of $107.19. The company's fifty day moving average price is $97.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.74.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.43.

Axis Capital Company Profile

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products in Bermuda, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions, employment practices, fiduciary, crime, professional indemnity, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers; and property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, property in transit, onshore renewable energy installations, and physical damage and business interruption following an act of terrorism.