Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 72,465 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 65.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,465 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.25% of Axis Capital worth $18,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Axis Capital by 10.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 224,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,733,000 after buying an additional 21,512 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 53.1% during the 1st quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 11,420 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 3,962 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $330,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,412,000 after buying an additional 299,573 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $116.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $116.95.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.