Graham Capital Management L.P. Purchases 40,105 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. significantly increased its stake in Axis Capital by 592.8%, purchasing 40,105 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Axis Capital, with Wells Fargo raising its target price to $105.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the rating from "buy" to "hold".
• Insider trading has been observed, with key insiders like Daniel J. Draper and Henry B. Smith selling shares, indicating a reduction in their ownership stakes.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 592.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,870 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,105 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.06% of Axis Capital worth $4,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $181,045,000 after buying an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $185,685,000 after acquiring an additional 903,107 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,359,471 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,107,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,188,000 after purchasing an additional 114,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in Axis Capital by 5.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 693,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $69,509,000 after buying an additional 35,024 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.9%

AXS traded up $0.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $99.17. 382,668 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 698,833. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $74.68 and a one year high of $107.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.59.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction on 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 owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.