Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,870 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,679,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in AXIS Capital by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 2.5 %

AXIS Capital stock traded up $2.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.84. 487,552 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,156. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $65.49 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. AXIS Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.