Teza Capital Management LLC Has $1.30 Million Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Teza Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 63.5%, owning 12,952 shares, valued at approximately $1.3 million, making it the firm's 29th largest holding.
• Research analysts have set a consensus target price of $111.43 for Axis Capital, with ratings showing six buy and three hold recommendations.
• Recent insider trading included the sale of 12,205 shares by company insiders, totaling $1.19 million over the last three months, indicating notable insider activity.

Teza Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 63.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 22,492 shares during the period. Axis Capital accounts for 0.6% of Teza Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 34.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Six investment 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Axis Capital stock traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $99.01. 283,805 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 691,981. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $76.46 and a one year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $97.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.84.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.