Raymond James & Associates Has $38.88 Million Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 488,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,267 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.58% of AXIS Capital worth $38,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 80.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $81.64 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $52.90 and a twelve month high of $83.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.71.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.86.

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.