Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 49.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,382 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $112.60 on Wednesday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $115.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

About Axis Capital

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.