M&T Bank Corp Takes Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• In the fourth quarter, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake of 20,468 shares in Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS), valued at about $2.19 million.
• Institutional ownership is high at 93.44%, with major holders like Vanguard, Dimensional, State Street and Allianz all increasing positions (Allianz up 30.3%).
• Analysts carry a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $122.80 price target (nine Buys, three Holds); Axis recently beat quarterly EPS ($3.25 vs. $2.97) and pays a $0.44 quarterly dividend (1.8% yield).

M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,468 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,192,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,954,373 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $762,029,000 after buying an additional 43,901 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,318,914 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $317,945,000 after buying an additional 74,567 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $170,069,000 after buying an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,222,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $117,157,000 after buying an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 970,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $92,965,000 after buying an additional 225,569 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AXS. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.80.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.7%

Axis Capital stock opened at $100.25 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.34. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $110.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital's payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Axis Capital Company 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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