8,024 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 158.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock opened at $87.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.47. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $53.49 and a 1-year high of $94.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.71.

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.