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 boosted its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 91.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,205 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC owned 0.17% of Axis Capital worth $13,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $319,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings 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 worth $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXS. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE AXS opened at $98.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.32. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $74.68 and a 12 month high of $107.19. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS 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%.Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Company 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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