Quadrature Capital Ltd Grows Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,013 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 61,675.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $840,231.09. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Millegan purchased 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares in the company, valued at $644,553.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,425 shares of company stock valued at $444,351. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXIS Capital stock traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.66. 652,161 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 528,948. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.24 and its 200-day moving average is $65.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $52.90 and a 52 week high of $74.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. AXIS Capital’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

AXIS Capital 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.