Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 12,230 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stock position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 11.2%, now owning approximately 0.12% of the company worth $10,036,000.
• Axis Capital reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.88, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.6%.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.44 will be paid on October 17th, with a current yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 16.92%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,666 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,230 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.12% of Axis Capital worth $10,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,070 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,369 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 342.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 22,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 17,260 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 285,593 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,309,000 after buying an additional 31,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.4%

Axis Capital stock traded up $0.40 on Tuesday, hitting $95.48. 238,708 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 694,618. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $96.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.93. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $107.19.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

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

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.