Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AXS opened at $102.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.92. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $68.02 and a 12 month high of $102.56. 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 (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 17.46%.

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.