AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Purchases $100,086.00 in Stock

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Michael Millegan acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,553.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AXS opened at $72.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $72.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.01.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. AXIS Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 42,515 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 19,019 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $474,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

About AXIS Capital

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.