Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 22,671 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,671 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $6,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,290,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $328,580,000 after buying an additional 600,901 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $185,685,000 after acquiring an additional 903,107 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,359,471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 28.9% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 964,260 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,109,000 after purchasing an additional 216,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 12.1% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 925,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,749,000 after purchasing an additional 99,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $100.43 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.97. 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 company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, 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 $83.14 and a twelve month high of $107.19.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Axis Capital in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

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.