2,378 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Bought by Ground Swell Capital LLC

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $101.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.23. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $68.02 and a fifty-two week high of $101.61. The company has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

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.