Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,599,516 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53,313 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of AXIS Capital worth $762,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AXS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven 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 target price of $100.50.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $99.57 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $101.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.