Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,637 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC owned about 0.09% of Axis Capital worth $7,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the first quarter worth about $271,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 153.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,419 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 15,399 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 62.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 50,582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 19,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Croban bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,036,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Axis Capital Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AXS opened at $99.51 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $82.92 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.86.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $184.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.