Citigroup Inc. Purchases 25,376 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 59.4% in the first quarter, owning 68,107 shares worth approximately $6.83 million.
• Axis Capital reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.88, while its revenue rose 12.6% year-over-year.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of opinions, with four "hold" ratings and six "buy" ratings, averaging a consensus price target of $111.43 for Axis Capital stock.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 59.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,107 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,376 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.09% of Axis Capital worth $6,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,265,000 after buying an additional 17,764 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $305,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,344,000 after acquiring an additional 134,157 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $181,045,000 after acquiring an additional 20,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,749,627 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $155,052,000 after acquiring an additional 111,187 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.4%

Axis Capital stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 86,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,032. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.20 and a 200-day moving average of $97.17. The stock has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $74.68 and a one year high of $107.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,705 shares of company stock valued at $842,703. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.