Legal & General Group Plc Sells 34,919 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Axis Capital by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,919 shares and leaving it with 88,954 shares worth about $9.53 million.
• Axis Capital recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.42 per share, though revenue of $1.64 billion missed analyst estimates. Revenue still rose 8.0% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, or $1.76 annually, implying a 1.8% yield; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $122.10.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 34,919 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.12% of Axis Capital worth $9,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,705,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 374.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 553,565 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,032,000 after buying an additional 436,944 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 196.5% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 484,619 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $46,426,000 after buying an additional 321,145 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,137,000. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 31.8% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 836,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,171,000 after buying an additional 201,880 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $95.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.85. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $137.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Axis Capital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.10.

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.

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