River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 319,386 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• River Road Asset Management cut its Axis Capital position by 23.3% in Q4, selling 319,386 shares and leaving it with 1,051,961 shares worth about $112.7 million. Axis Capital still made up about 1.2% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Axis Capital reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.42 per share, though revenue came in below forecasts at $1.64 billion. The company also posted 8% year-over-year revenue growth and strong profitability metrics.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, payable July 15, which annualizes to $1.76 and implies a 1.7% yield. Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.10.

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,051,961 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 319,386 shares during the period. Axis Capital comprises approximately 1.2% of River Road Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.37% of Axis Capital worth $112,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $491,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,579 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $103,001,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the third quarter valued at $56,705,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 147.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 745,591 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,845,000 after purchasing an additional 443,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 374.7% during 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 during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Mizuho set a $137.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.10.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $101.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $110.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.37 and a 200 day moving average of $101.80.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The company 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%.Axis Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.

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