Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Acquired by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.9% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 6,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 7.8% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $95.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.03. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $107.19.

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

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 three months, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.43.

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.