Moran Wealth Management LLC Acquires 85,140 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 3,244.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,764 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 85,140 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Axis Capital worth $8,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,374,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 15,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,499,000. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $298,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.75.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.4%

AXS traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.20. The company had a trading volume of 812,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,874. The stock has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.15. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $68.49 and a 52 week high of $107.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. Axis Capital's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.46%.

About Axis Capital

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.