Steph & Co. Has $555,000 Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Steph & Co. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,028 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 50.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 125,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,614,000 after purchasing an additional 42,496 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in AXIS Capital by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 275,103 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,635,000 after acquiring an additional 16,513 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 447.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the first quarter worth $366,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the first quarter valued at $201,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AXS stock traded down $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $60.71. 591,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 632,916. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.86. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.48 and a 200-day moving average of $58.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $4.19. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. StockNews.com downgraded AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

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.