Vest Financial LLC Makes New $3.87 Million Investment in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 38,586 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,868,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $300,000. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,840,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,846,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 53.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,898,000 after buying an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AXIS Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,085,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,626. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.08. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $68.02 and a 52 week high of $107.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.