Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $973,000 Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 48.4%, now holding 9,731 shares valued at $973,000.
• Institutional investors control 93.44% of Axis Capital's stock, with several hedge funds adjusting their positions recently.
• Axis Capital reported a 12.6% year-over-year revenue increase, surpassing earnings expectations with $3.29 EPS in its latest quarter.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,731 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,139 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Axis Capital by 2.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after acquiring an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Axis Capital by 34.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.61. 480,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,816. The business's 50-day moving average price is $97.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.58. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $74.68 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

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.