First Hawaiian Bank Decreases Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

First Hawaiian Bank reduced its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,071 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 61,675.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.7 %

AXS opened at $70.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.31. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $52.02 and a one year high of $74.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.33.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Michael Millegan purchased 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,553.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director W Marston Becker purchased 3,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,842.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Millegan purchased 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351. Company 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.