Boston Partners Sells 15,420 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Boston Partners has reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 2.2%, now holding 694,962 shares valued at approximately $69 million.
• Several hedge funds have made significant changes to their positions, with IFP Advisors Inc notably increasing its stake by 1,542.9% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Axis Capital, with UBS Group maintaining a "buy" rating and raising the price target, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to "hold."

Boston Partners lessened its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 694,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,420 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.88% of Axis Capital worth $69,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $211,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,975,104. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS traded up $1.1880 on Wednesday, hitting $97.6380. The company had a trading volume of 623,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,642. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.