Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 49.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,382 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 249,720 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,324,000 after purchasing an additional 14,994 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $68,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 1,102.3% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 65,575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,636,000 after purchasing an additional 60,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $112.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $115.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AXS shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.70.

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.