Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Sold by Croban

Croban lowered its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Croban’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter worth $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 34.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted 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 purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE AXS opened at $96.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.99. 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 12 month low of $77.21 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.17.

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.