Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Purchases 69,937 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. significantly increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 850.7% in Q2, purchasing 69,937 shares to reach a total of 78,158 shares valued at approximately $8.1 million.
• Axis Capital reported $3.29 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.88, despite quarterly revenue of $1.63 billion coming in below the estimated $1.68 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, yielding 1.9%, with a low dividend payout ratio of 16.92%, indicating potential for future growth in dividends.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 850.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,158 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,937 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned about 0.10% of Axis Capital worth $8,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 107.7% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,067 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the second quarter worth $3,107,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 29.3% during the second quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC now owns 11,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 6.3% in the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 44,458 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 174.6% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 744,842 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,329,000 after acquiring an additional 473,608 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.1%

AXS opened at $91.95 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $96.42 and its 200-day moving average is $97.77. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $107.19. 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 company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.73.

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. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.92%.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

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 shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director 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 quarter, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.29.

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.

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