Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes $321,000 Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners Inc. recently acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, purchasing 3,093 shares valued at approximately $321,000.
• Axis Capital reported $3.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88, and its revenue was up 12.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity highlighted that two executives sold shares recently, indicating a 20.92% decrease in one insider's position and a 6.89% decrease in another's holdings.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,290,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $328,580,000 after purchasing an additional 600,901 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 113.0% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 747,903 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $74,970,000 after purchasing an additional 396,764 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,499,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,443,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.2%

AXS opened at $99.14 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $76.46 and a fifty-two week 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 capitalization of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day moving average price is $97.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.90.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

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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