Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,394,491 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,241 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.67% of AXIS Capital worth $111,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $5,137,000. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 35.6% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 85,803 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 22,540 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the first quarter worth $1,101,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 17.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 370,566 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $24,094,000 after acquiring an additional 55,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $683,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXS. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.46. The stock had a trading volume of 392,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,796. The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $53.48 and a 1 year high of $85.67.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

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.