Meritage Portfolio Management Has $1.55 Million Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management significantly reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 67.9% during Q2, bringing their holdings to $1.55 million after selling 31,526 shares.
• Insider selling was reported, with Director Henry B. Smith and another insider selling a combined total of 7,805 shares in August, reflecting a notable decrease in their ownership positions.
• Analyst ratings show a mix of outlooks for Axis Capital, with seven analysts rating it as a "buy" and two analysts issuing a "hold," while the average target price is set at $117.17.

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 67.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,878 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 31,526 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 34.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm's 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 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. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on Axis Capital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.17.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:AXS opened at $96.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.73. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

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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