Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 160.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 51,201 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $8,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Axis Capital by 80.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.45.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $117.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $118.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.03.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

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.