AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Wasatch Advisors LP

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 699,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 58,502 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $62,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $94.62 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $101.42. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

About AXIS Capital

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.