Natixis Takes $9.06 Million Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Natixis acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 139,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,057,000. Natixis owned 0.16% of AXIS Capital at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth $52,845,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 185.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 488,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,051,000 after purchasing an additional 317,169 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 61.3% during the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 550,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,769,000 after purchasing an additional 209,181 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in AXIS Capital by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 989,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,799,000 after acquiring an additional 204,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $7,815,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AXS traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,002,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,926. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $52.90 and a twelve month high of $74.82. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael Millegan acquired 1,400 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Michael Millegan acquired 1,400 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 2,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at $840,231.09. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 6,425 shares of company stock valued at $444,351 in the last three months. Corporate 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.