Stone Point Capital LLC Has $240.99 Million Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Stone Point Capital LLC reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 64.5% in the first quarter, retaining about 2.4 million shares, which represents 31.3% of its investment portfolio.
• Axis Capital's stock opened at $97.35 and reported a market cap of $7.61 billion along with a PE ratio of 9.36.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Axis Capital, with four giving it a "hold" rating and six rating it as a "buy," reflecting a consensus target price of $111.43.

Stone Point Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 64.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,404,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,373,673 shares during the period. Axis Capital comprises about 31.3% of Stone Point Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Stone Point Capital LLC owned approximately 3.06% of Axis Capital worth $240,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 8,221 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,130,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,883,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Axis Capital by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,208 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 1.2%

Axis Capital stock traded up $1.1880 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.6380. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,642. The stock has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $74.27 and a one year high of $107.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.29 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.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $211,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,975,104. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.