6,336 Shares in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Purchased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Axis Capital by 21.6% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 26,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 8,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Croban increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Croban now owns 10,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $104.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $84.81 and a 1-year high of $110.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.80.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 14.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $141.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

Axis Capital 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.