The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Position in Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 840 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Axos Financial were worth $2,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in Axos Financial by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 142,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,974,000 after acquiring an additional 35,087 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 337,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,604,000 after purchasing an additional 17,201 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Axos Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,849,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Axos Financial by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 3,588 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Axos Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 106,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,432,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AX has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Axos Financial from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Axos Financial from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul Grinberg sold 30,000 shares of Axos Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $2,042,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 113,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,714,256.55. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sara Wardell-Smith purchased 3,000 shares of Axos Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.73 per share, with a total value of $194,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $663,482.50. The trade was a 41.38 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.07% of the company’s stock.

Axos Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AX opened at $68.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.25. Axos Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.10 and a fifty-two week high of $88.46.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $432.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.04 million. Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.10% and a return on equity of 18.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axos Financial Profile

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.