EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 73.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $59,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in AXIS Capital by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in AXIS Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 33,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $452,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $94.97 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.60 and a 200 day moving average of $86.84. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $98.11. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 14.25%.

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.