KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• KBC Group NV sharply increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 1,153.7% in Q1, ending with 31,743 shares valued at about $3.2 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets on AXIS Capital, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $124.45.
• Axis Capital recently beat quarterly EPS expectations, reported $3.42 EPS, and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, implying a 1.5% yield.

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 1,153.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,211 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Axis Capital by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 439,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,118,000 after buying an additional 95,207 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth $2,192,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 92,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,863,000 after acquiring an additional 24,884 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 125,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,404,000 after acquiring an additional 31,830 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 212.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 12,874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.45.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $116.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.49. The business's fifty day moving average is $105.19 and its 200 day moving average is $102.95. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $116.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

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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