Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its Axis Capital stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 80,000 shares and ending with 450,000 shares valued at about $48.2 million.
• Axis Capital reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.42 per share for the latest quarter, though revenue of $1.64 billion came in below analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, payable July 15, which annualizes to $1.76 per share and yields about 1.7%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp lowered its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 450,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.58% of Axis Capital worth $48,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 376.0% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 39,418 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 31,137 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 500,401 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,588,000 after purchasing an additional 165,946 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 140.4% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 163.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 88,819 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,523,000 after purchasing an additional 55,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 24,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 8,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $101.33 on Tuesday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $110.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.80.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $137.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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