AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 424.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 55.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $205,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.7 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $80.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $52.90 and a 1-year high of $83.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.86.

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.