Ieq Capital LLC Buys 62,205 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 91.2%, acquiring an additional 62,205 shares, bringing its total ownership to 130,382 shares valued at approximately $13.07 million.
• Insider sales were reported with insider Daniel J. Draper selling 4,305 shares and Director Henry B. Smith selling 3,500 shares, indicating decreases in their ownership positions.
• Wall Street analysts show a mix of sentiments, with six analysts rating it as a "buy" and three as a "hold", averaging a target price of $111.43 for the stock.

Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 91.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 130,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 62,205 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC owned 0.17% of Axis Capital worth $13,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 903,107 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,499,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,443,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 11,415.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 185,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,619,000 after buying an additional 184,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,101,000 after buying an additional 151,781 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AXS stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $98.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 107,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 699,449. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $74.68 and a one year high of $107.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $97.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.58. 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 (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In related 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 transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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