20,001 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Bought by Paragon Capital Management Inc.

Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 20,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,000. AXIS Capital comprises 1.4% of Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,542,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,394 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 3.8% during the third quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXS. Bank of America upped their target price 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 target price on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.25.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.2 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $90.37 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $56.93 and a twelve month high of $94.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.