Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Buys New Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by purchasing 22,329 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million, making it the 24th largest position in their portfolio.
• Recent insider transactions include sales by directors that resulted in a decrease of over 6% in ownership for each seller, with a total of 12,205 shares sold in the past ninety days.
• Axis Capital recently reported a quarterly EPS of $3.29, exceeding estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44, with a dividend yield of 1.9%.

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,329 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,318,000. Axis Capital comprises about 0.2% of Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,070 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,369 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 342.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 22,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 17,260 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 285,593 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,309,000 after acquiring an additional 31,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value 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. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.93.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Six 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

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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