Employees Retirement System of Texas Decreases Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Employees Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,844 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 179.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 709,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,023,000 after purchasing an additional 37,000 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Axis Capital by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Down 3.4%

NYSE:AXS opened at $95.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.09. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.10.

Axis Capital Company 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.