Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New $224,000 Investment in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.3%

AXS stock traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 640,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,150. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $68.02 and a 52 week high of $105.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $97.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.32.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 17.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.