waypoint wealth counsel Makes New Investment in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

waypoint wealth counsel bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Axis Capital by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.6%

Axis Capital stock opened at $96.17 on Friday. The stock 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 quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.98.

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

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.