First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Takes $206,000 Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 303,481 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,804,000 after purchasing an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,707,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,113,000 after buying an additional 75,085 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the first quarter valued at $1,873,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the first quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 8.1% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $82.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.47 and its 200 day moving average is $72.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $52.90 and a fifty-two week high of $83.19.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXS. Bank of America lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.86.

AXIS Capital Company 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.