Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Position Trimmed by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings of Axis Capital by 14.7%, now owning approximately 0.16% of the company, valued at about $12.39 million.
• Price T Rowe Associates increased its position by 95.1% in the 1st quarter, bringing its total shares to 1.85 million, while GAMMA Investing boosted its stake by an astonishing 11,415.5%.
• Analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Axis Capital with an average target price of $111.43 and recent price objectives raised by major firms like Wells Fargo and UBS.

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,617 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 21,332 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.16% of Axis Capital worth $12,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Axis Capital by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Axis Capital by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AXS traded down $1.05 on Friday, reaching $95.24. 1,643,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 522,815. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $96.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.85. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $77.21 and a 52 week high of $107.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 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 (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Axis Capital 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.