Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys New Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $486,587,000 after purchasing an additional 207,233 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after buying an additional 72,913 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,776,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after buying an additional 16,031 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $69,381,000 after buying an additional 581,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 942,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,107,000 after acquiring an additional 31,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $60.64 on Monday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. Sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.78%.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.