Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Takes $1.33 Million Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,331,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings 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 increased its holdings 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 increased its holdings 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. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the second quarter valued at about $126,000. 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 worth $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.29.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $93.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.80. 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 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $184.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 16.08%.Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.55%.

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.