Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 224,164 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 21,512 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.30% of Axis Capital worth $22,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $491,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Axis Capital by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $373,412,000 after purchasing an additional 299,573 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Axis Capital by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $170,069,000 after purchasing an additional 15,755 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,387,004 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,565,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,370,479 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $146,765,000 after buying an additional 400,068 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Axis Capital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Axis Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter net income available to common shareholders increased 16% year over year to $251 million, or $3.38 per diluted share, compared with $216 million, or $2.72 per share, a year earlier. AXIS Capital second-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: AXS posted a 93.1% combined ratio and $143 million of underwriting income, indicating profitable underwriting. Gross premiums written rose 6% to $2.7 billion, led by 15% growth in insurance premiums, while book value per diluted share climbed 14.7% from a year earlier to $80.67. AXIS Capital Q2 net income rises
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue increased 7.4% year over year to approximately $1.75 billion. This was above some published estimates of $1.74 billion, although other consensus measures characterized revenue as slightly below expectations. The mixed comparison limits the strength of the revenue-driven investment case. Axis Capital Q2 earnings snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Operating income was $211 million, or $2.84 per share, below analyst expectations of roughly $3.23–$3.25 and down from $3.29 per share a year ago. The earnings miss may temper optimism and suggests that favorable net-income growth did not fully translate into recurring operating earnings. Axis Capital misses Q2 earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Reinsurance gross premiums written declined 25%, and management cited an evolving risk environment, including Middle East conflict and changing market conditions. Investors may watch whether these factors pressure future premium growth or underwriting margins.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.45.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $119.19 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $119.99.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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