Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 62.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,582 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 19,424 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Axis Capital worth $5,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Axis Capital by 21.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,626,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 7,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.1%

AXS traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,496. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $70.16 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $101.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.25.

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.