Vident Advisory LLC Purchases New Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has purchased a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, acquiring 4,179 shares valued at approximately $419,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital for around $420,038, marking a 20.92% decrease in his holdings.
• Axis Capital recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.88.

Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,179 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,685,000 after acquiring an additional 903,107 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,359,471 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,107,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,188,000 after acquiring an additional 114,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 693,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $69,509,000 after acquiring an additional 35,024 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital 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 transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.02. 546,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 526,959. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $74.68 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.81. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.