Watchtower Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Watchtower Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 110,000 shares during the period. Axis Capital makes up about 6.7% of Watchtower Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Watchtower Advisors LP owned approximately 0.19% of Axis Capital worth $14,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.5% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,222,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $117,157,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 352,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,726,000 after acquiring an additional 136,313 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,025,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Axis Capital by 30.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 970,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $92,965,000 after acquiring an additional 225,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Axis Capital by 22.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 110,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,573,000 after purchasing an additional 20,484 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $99.86 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.31. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $84.81 and a 12 month high of $110.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Compass Point set a $121.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

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.