Abacus Planning Group Inc. Makes New $269,000 Investment in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 11,415.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 185,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 184,132 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 140.3% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,897 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 8,698 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $3,868,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.7%

AXS opened at $94.53 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.99.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

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.