Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC has acquired a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, purchasing 4,270 shares valued at approximately $428,000.
• Axis Capital has received mixed analyst ratings, with six analysts giving it a Buy rating and three a Hold rating, amid updates to price targets ranging from $105 to $121.
• The latest earnings report showed Axis Capital beating earnings per share estimates with $3.29 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88.

Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 36.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 34.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.43.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.42. 218,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,256. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $98.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.32. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $74.68 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.