NewEdge Advisors LLC Buys 5,427 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 210.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,008 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,427 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 148,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 117,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,431,000 after purchasing an additional 37,577 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 728,331 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $64,545,000 after purchasing an additional 321,608 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 7,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:AXS traded up $1.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.19. The stock had a trading volume of 74,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average is $94.94 and its 200 day moving average is $90.48. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $63.71 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.