Capula Management Ltd Takes Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Capula Management Ltd initiated a new position in Axis Capital during Q1, buying 29,685 shares worth about $3.01 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: several analysts raised price targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $124.45.
• Axis Capital reported Q1 EPS of $3.42, beating estimates, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, implying a 1.5% annual yield.

Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 29,685 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,010,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 439,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,118,000 after buying an additional 95,207 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth $2,192,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 92,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,863,000 after buying an additional 24,884 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 212.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,029,000 after buying an additional 12,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 125,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,404,000 after acquiring an additional 31,830 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXS shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.45.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.8%

AXS stock opened at $114.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.85. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $116.63. 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 capitalization of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.49.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

About Axis Capital

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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