Toronto Dominion Bank Makes New $5.14 Million Investment in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 79,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,137,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,707,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,113,000 after purchasing an additional 75,085 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,788,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,785,000 after acquiring an additional 27,750 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,246,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,034,000 after acquiring an additional 20,746 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,054,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,552,000 after acquiring an additional 64,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 973,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,924,000 after acquiring an additional 31,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $73.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.22. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $52.90 and a one year high of $74.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Marston Becker bought 3,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.58 per share, with a total value of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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.