Alberta Investment Management Corp Cuts Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $48,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 40,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after buying an additional 18,234 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 211.5% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 274,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,409,000 after acquiring an additional 186,460 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 3,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Mizuho set a $137.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $101.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.80.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.