Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 5.0% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.6% in the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 26,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 5.3% in the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 8.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axis Capital Price Performance

AXS stock opened at $97.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.54. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $110.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXS. Weiss Ratings downgraded Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho set a $137.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.10.

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.