Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.40% of Axis Capital worth $31,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $1,673,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,843 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.25.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE AXS traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.67. The company had a trading volume of 17,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 704,853. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.29 and a 200 day moving average of $95.93. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $70.16 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81.

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 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 net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.