AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:AXS opened at $100.61 on Monday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $68.02 and a 12-month high of $103.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.46%.

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.