Boston Partners Has $49.85 Million Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Boston Partners lessened its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 488,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 206,962 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Axis Capital were worth $49,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXS. Ibex Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Axis Capital by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 51,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,391,000 after acquiring an additional 10,877 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the second quarter valued at about $485,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 145.1% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 63.5% during the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 58,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,058,000 after buying an additional 22,671 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2,065.4% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 76,567 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,949,000 after buying an additional 73,031 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $101.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.99. The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $83.65 and a twelve month high of $107.19.

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

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

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

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.