Woodline Partners LP Purchases 150,652 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 68.7%, now owning 370,054 shares valued at approximately $37.1 million.
• Several large investors also adjusted their stakes, with IFP Advisors Inc. raising their holding by an extraordinary 1,542.9% in the first quarter.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with a current average target price of $111.43.

Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 68.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,054 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 150,652 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.47% of Axis Capital worth $37,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $319,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 34.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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 target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Axis Capital stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $99.14. 573,021 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 522,276. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.77. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $76.46 and a 1 year 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 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 firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current 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.