Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 994,978 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $88,175,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 1.19% of AXIS Capital at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $1,673,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Connable Office Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $92.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $98.11.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

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.