Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires New Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during 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 during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE AXS opened at $100.61 on Monday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $68.02 and a 1-year high of $103.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.06 and a 200-day moving average of $92.81. The firm has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. AXIS Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

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.