UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Acquires 20,159 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its ownership of Axis Capital Holdings by 7.1% during Q1, acquiring an additional 20,159 shares to reach a total of 305,752 shares, valued at $30,649,000.
• Multiple institutional investors are actively adjusting their positions in Axis Capital, with some firms, like IFP Advisors Inc, increasing holdings significantly by over 1,500%.
• Axis Capital's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.29, exceeding analysts' expectations, while the company's revenue rose 12.6% compared to the previous year.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 305,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 20,159 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.39% of Axis Capital worth $30,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Axis Capital by 95.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $185,685,000 after purchasing an additional 903,107 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 22.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,290,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $328,580,000 after purchasing an additional 600,901 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the first quarter worth $26,499,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth $19,443,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 11,415.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 185,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,619,000 after purchasing an additional 184,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,643,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,815. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $96.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.85.

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

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is 16.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXS. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group restated 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. Corporate 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.