2,900 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Acquired by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co bought a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,172,000 after buying an additional 1,345,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,845,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,928,000 after purchasing an additional 545,546 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,065,000. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 61.3% in the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 550,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,769,000 after purchasing an additional 209,181 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $77.91 on Friday. 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 one year low of $52.90 and a one year high of $80.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AXS. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.50.

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.