21,400 Shares in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Acquired by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec has acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, purchasing 21,400 shares valued at approximately $2,145,000 during the first quarter.
• Axis Capital reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 12.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Insider transactions revealed that directors have sold a total of 12,205 shares worth $1,188,048 over the past ninety days, indicating some movement in ownership among company executives.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Axis Capital by 2.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Axis Capital by 34.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AXS stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.25. 203,070 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 700,095. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $97.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.58. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $74.68 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The company has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 ninety days, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Axis Capital Company 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.