Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lessened its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 34,930 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Axis Capital by 8.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $373,412,000 after buying an additional 299,573 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,504,000 after acquiring an additional 21,001 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,071,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $108,700,000 after acquiring an additional 23,109 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 979,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,376,000 after acquiring an additional 234,353 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 468,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,556,000 after purchasing an additional 15,839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry Smith sold 4,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total value of $519,391.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,400,342.10. This trade represents a 10.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock traded down $2.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.89. 831,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,269. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.48 and its 200-day moving average is $102.15. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $93.02 and a 12 month high of $119.99. The stock has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.27. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 14.62%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 12.47 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $112.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $131.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $115.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

Axis Capital Profile

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) is a Bermuda-based specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage and risk-management solutions for businesses, institutions and other insurers facing complex or difficult-to-place risks.

AXIS offers a range of commercial property and casualty insurance products, including professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, energy, environmental, political risk, credit and surety, and accident and health coverage.