Strs Ohio Takes $16.88 Million Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake of 168,395 shares in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, valued at approximately $16.88 million, representing 0.21% ownership of the company.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Axis Capital, with six recommending a "buy" and three advising a "hold," while the consensus target price stands at $111.43.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by directors, with insider Henry B. Smith selling 3,500 shares, indicating potential insider confidence concerns as ownership decreased by 6.89%.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 168,395 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,880,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.21% of Axis Capital as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,611 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,070 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,369 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,332 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,107,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,188,000 after buying an additional 114,768 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS traded up $1.68 on Thursday, reaching $96.60. The stock had a trading volume of 163,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,018. The business's 50-day moving average price is $96.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.77. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $107.19. 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 posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm's revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company'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 directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.