Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 15.6%, now holding approximately $15.76 million worth of shares after selling 29,034 in the first quarter.
• Axis Capital reported an EPS of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.88, while revenue was $1.63 billion, slightly below estimates.
• Analyst ratings for Axis Capital are generally positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $111.43, although recent reports have shown mixed signals from different investment firms.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,179 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 29,034 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.20% of Axis Capital worth $15,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,626,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 6,042 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $211,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,975,104. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS traded up $1.3630 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $96.3730. The stock had a trading volume of 362,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,883. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $74.27 and a 52-week high of $107.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.36 and a 200 day moving average of $97.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.83.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.