State of Wyoming Has $723,000 Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 172% in the first quarter, owning a total of 7,217 shares valued at $723,000.
• Several institutional investors also boosted their positions in Axis Capital, with Trexquant Investment LP raising its stake by 139.1% and Ieq Capital LLC by 91.2% during the same period.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Axis Capital, with an average price target of $111.43, including upgrades from Wells Fargo and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 172.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,217 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 4,564 shares during the period. State of Wyoming's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 139.1% in the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 92,125 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,235,000 after buying an additional 53,599 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 91.2% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 130,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,069,000 after buying an additional 62,205 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,145,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $563,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,045 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. The trade was 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 worth $1,188,048. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.68. 327,488 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 700,414. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.58. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $74.68 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49, a PEG 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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 lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

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.