Meritage Portfolio Management Trims Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 42.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,404 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 34,224 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.06% of Axis Capital worth $4,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,147,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $37,775,000. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 728,331 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $64,545,000 after purchasing an additional 321,608 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

AXS traded up $0.88 on Friday, reaching $99.11. 661,690 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,307. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $68.56 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $101.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.39.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.75.

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.