Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Makes New Investment in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

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 bought a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 21,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 95.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,685,000 after purchasing an additional 903,107 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth $26,499,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth $19,443,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 11,415.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 185,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,619,000 after buying an additional 184,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,101,000 after buying an additional 151,781 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.6%

AXS traded down $0.56 on Wednesday, hitting $98.15. The company had a trading volume of 68,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 697,954. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $74.68 and a 12-month high of $107.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $97.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.59.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.