Focus Partners Wealth Increases Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 49.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,332 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,147,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,118,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AXS. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.75.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

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 stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE AXS opened at $102.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $68.02 and a twelve month high of $103.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.49 and its 200 day moving average is $92.26.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.46%.

AXIS Capital 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.

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