Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Stock: Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Reduces Stake

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,759 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 60,437 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 8.9% in 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 31.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 979,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,376,000 after buying an additional 234,353 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 64.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 318,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,303,000 after buying an additional 124,317 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 183,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,575,000 after buying an additional 72,465 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 180.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 108,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,657,000 after buying an additional 69,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry Smith sold 4,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total transaction of $519,391.95. Following the sale, the director owned 41,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $107.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.39. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $93.02 and a 12 month high of $119.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 12.47 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 13.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.00.

About Axis Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer headquartered in Bermuda. Founded in 2001, the company serves businesses and other clients through insurance and reinsurance operations. Its insurance offerings include coverage for property and casualty risks, professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, energy, and accident and health. Its reinsurance business provides protection to other insurers across property, casualty, and specialty lines. AXIS operates in markets around the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.