First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• First Manhattan Co. LLC. reduced its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 2.2%, selling 4,299 shares and retaining 188,064 shares valued at approximately $18.93 million.
• Axis Capital's stock is currently priced at $98.47, with a market capitalization of $7.70 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47.
• Insider transactions included significant sales by Daniel J. Draper and Henry B. Smith, representing a decrease in their positions, with insiders collectively selling 12,205 shares valued at $1.19 million in the last quarter.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. cut its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,064 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,299 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 0.24% of Axis Capital worth $18,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS traded down $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.44. The stock had a trading volume of 612,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,259. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $97.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.70. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $74.68 and a 1 year high of $107.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital 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 transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.