Raymond James Financial Inc. Has $91.10 Million Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 8.7%, now owning approximately 1.16% of the company, valued at $91.1 million.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $111.43.
• Axis Capital recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.29 EPS, exceeding expectations of $2.88, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.6%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 908,815 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 86,163 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 1.16% of Axis Capital worth $91,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $319,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 34.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Stock Down 1.1%

Axis Capital stock traded down $1.1040 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $98.0860. The company's stock had a trading volume of 486,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,003. The company has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $74.68 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $98.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.