American Century Companies Inc. Sells 70,922 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 2.2% during the first quarter, maintaining ownership of approximately 3.95% of the company, worth about $311.5 million.
• Axis Capital has shown strong earnings performance, reporting $3.29 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 12.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Axis Capital, with a consensus price target of $111.43, and recent upgrades from several firms, signaling confidence in the company's outlook.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,107,590 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 70,922 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.95% of Axis Capital worth $311,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 36.9% in 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Up 1.4%

AXS stock traded up $1.3630 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.3730. The company had a trading volume of 362,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,746. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.11. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $74.27 and a 52 week high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during 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%.The business's revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXS. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.