VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 29,930 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,107,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 36.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the second quarter worth $126,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owned 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AXS opened at $91.95 on Tuesday. 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 Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $107.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.81.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 16.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AXS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.29.

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.