Capula Management Ltd Invests $3.01 Million in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Capula Management Ltd acquired a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 29,685 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,010,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 80.8% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AXS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:AXS opened at $114.59 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $116.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.85.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.