Michael Millegan Acquires 1,400 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Stock

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,016 shares in the company, valued at $644,553.84. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 1.3 %

AXS stock opened at $71.41 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $72.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. AXIS Capital’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in AXIS Capital by 45.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.