Bank of Montreal Can Buys 616 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 4.4 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $95.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.78. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.64 and a twelve month high of $101.42.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company 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.