Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 72,465 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 65.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,465 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $18,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 80.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Up 1.6%

AXS stock opened at $116.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $105.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.95. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $116.95.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.45.

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.