Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Buys 237 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 338,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,751,000 after acquiring an additional 4,087 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,503,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 70,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,913,000 after acquiring an additional 34,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $61.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.47. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital 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.