Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Axis Capital worth $15,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXS. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 10,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,653 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,059,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Axis Capital by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Axis Capital by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 41,844 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,708,000 after buying an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS traded down $0.24 on Monday, reaching $95.02. 96,284 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 709,722. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.08. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $74.27 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

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.