Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,075,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $287,909,000 after buying an additional 152,914 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,538,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,110,000 after acquiring an additional 112,536 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 12.5% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,417,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 157,110 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.25.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $88.35 on Thursday. 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 Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $53.88 and a 12 month high of $94.89. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.92.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

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.