AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,263,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,567 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $112,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $453,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $549,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value 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 represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $93.68 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.