Diversified Trust Co. Makes New $856,000 Investment in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 7,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $856,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 5.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 26,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 8,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Croban boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Croban now owns 10,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $98.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.50. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $84.81 and a 52-week high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

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.