AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director W Marston Becker Purchases 3,025 Shares of Stock

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director W Marston Becker bought 3,025 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $69.82 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $69.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth about $208,000. Cambiar Investors LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 12.0% in the third quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 44,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $437,000. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 16.7% in the third quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 7,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

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.