Invesco Ltd. Sells 18,387 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 5.7%, holding 303,831 shares valued at approximately $30.5 million.
• During the 1st quarter, several hedge funds altered their positions in Axis Capital, with 93.44% of its stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Axis Capital's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $3.29 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.88, but revenue fell slightly short at $1.63 billion.

Invesco Ltd. cut its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 303,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 18,387 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.39% of Axis Capital worth $30,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXS. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Axis Capital by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 10,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Axis Capital by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 210.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 5,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Axis Capital by 3,139.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 133,013 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,788,000 after purchasing an additional 128,907 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded down $1.1040 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $98.0860. 486,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,003. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $74.68 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.