Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 762,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 277,517 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $77,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter worth about $330,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,412,000 after purchasing an additional 299,573 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Axis Capital by 1,153.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,219,000 after buying an additional 29,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,071,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $108,700,000 after buying an additional 23,109 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of AXS opened at $116.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $116.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.45.

Axis Capital Company 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.