Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 10,037 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Edgestream Partners cut its Axis Capital stake by 53.7% in the first quarter, selling 10,037 shares and retaining 8,670 shares valued at approximately $879,000.
• Axis Capital reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, missing the $3.25 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.4% year over year to $1.75 billion.
• The company maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% yield; analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $120.50.

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 53.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,037 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $47,118,000 after purchasing an additional 95,207 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 31.4% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 53,905 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,467,000 after buying an additional 12,896 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,192,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 92,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,863,000 after buying an additional 24,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 125,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,404,000 after buying an additional 31,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $103.90 on Wednesday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.44 and a 200 day moving average of $103.28.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. Axis Capital's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital's payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price target on Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.50.

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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