Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Has $1.85 Million Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,626,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.20. 812,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 616,964. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $68.49 and a one year high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $100.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Axis Capital's payout ratio is 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.