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

Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 79,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,137,000. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.09% of AXIS Capital as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth $1,785,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth $52,845,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $3,503,000. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,132.7% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 95,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 87,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $1,168,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director W Marston Becker acquired 3,025 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.58 per share, with a total value of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,842.18. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Marston Becker bought 3,025 shares of the company’s 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,842.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 6,425 shares of company stock valued at $444,351. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $73.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $52.90 and a 52-week high of $74.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.91%.

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.