Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Invests $4.24 Million in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 42,253 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,235,000. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Axis Capital at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Axis Capital by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,846,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Axis Capital by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 305,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,111,000 after purchasing an additional 24,891 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.6%

AXS traded down $0.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $98.53. 710,231 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,163. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.54. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $69.44 and a 1 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.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.79%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Axis Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.75.

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.