Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys New Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,078 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXS. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.50.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.57. The company had a trading volume of 800,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,524. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.82. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $101.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

AXIS Capital Company 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.