6,199 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $129,371,000 after buying an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 226,956 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $182,538,000 after purchasing an additional 213,559 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 131.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 254,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,265,000 after buying an additional 144,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,070,000 after buying an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.6 %

AXS traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.02. 1,222,685 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 683,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $55.56 and a one year high of $94.89. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $89.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.79. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.25.

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.