35,781 Shares in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has acquired a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, purchasing 35,781 shares valued at approximately $3.59 million in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their stakes in Axis Capital, contributing to a collective institutional ownership of 93.44%.
• Axis Capital recently reported a net income of $3.29 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $1.63 billion for the quarter.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 35,781 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,587,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the first quarter worth $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Axis Capital by 36.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the 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 owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $98.47. 86,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 697,075. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $74.68 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.45 and a 200 day moving average of $97.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.77.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

About Axis Capital

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.