Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 439,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95,207 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $47,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the third quarter worth $29,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Axis Capital from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.80.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $99.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.97. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $110.34. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.63.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

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.