Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 1,058.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,479 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.75.

Axis Capital Price Performance

AXS traded down $3.80 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.65. 411,829 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 619,442. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.32. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $68.49 and a 12-month high of $107.19. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

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.