Wasatch Advisors LP Has $68.55 Million Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,054,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,640 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $68,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 43.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,866 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,431,000 after buying an additional 18,360 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $181,000. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 27.7% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 10.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 23.9% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 31,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AXS stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $70.11. 723,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 615,364. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $52.02 and a 52 week high of $74.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director W Marston Becker bought 3,025 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Marston Becker purchased 3,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.58 per share, with a total value of $201,404.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,842.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About AXIS Capital

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.