Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 903,107 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 95.1%, owning approximately 2.36% of the company valued at $185.7 million.
• Axis Capital recently reported earnings of $3.29 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.88, while its revenue increased by 12.6% year-over-year.
• The consensus rating for Axis Capital among analysts is "Moderate Buy," with a target price averaging $111.43.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 95.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 903,107 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.36% of Axis Capital worth $185,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $98.50. 526,234 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,617. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $74.68 and a 12-month high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.84 and a 200-day moving average of $97.32.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Axis Capital

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.