AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.1 %

AXS opened at $99.57 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day moving average is $87.74. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $60.45 and a one year high of $101.42. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. On average, equities analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Company 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.