Elevate Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $1.84 Million Investment in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,000. AXIS Capital comprises 1.6% of Elevate Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after buying an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $93.43 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $57.99 and a 1-year high of $94.89. 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 (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. AXIS Capital’s 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.