EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 73.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $59,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,175,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,366,000 after purchasing an additional 348,993 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 131.9% in 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 worth $20,265,000 after purchasing an additional 144,792 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $94.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. 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 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $98.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.84.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.