Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $269,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 158,936 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,501,000 after buying an additional 3,957 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $258,000. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after buying an additional 4,011 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.14.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $96.99 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.02. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $77.21 and a 52 week high of $107.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

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.