waypoint wealth counsel Takes Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

waypoint wealth counsel acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 34.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven 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, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.17.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $96.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.98. The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.92%.

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.