Aviva PLC Takes Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Aviva PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,757 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 34.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Axis Capital in the second quarter worth $126,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Axis Capital by 34.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its position in Axis Capital by 119.8% during the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 2,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Up 1.0%

Axis Capital stock opened at $102.64 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $83.90 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.02. 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 $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $184.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.55%.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,005 shares of company stock valued at $976,584 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Axis Capital in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

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.