AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 329,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $29,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,680,000 after buying an additional 53,514 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,110,000 after acquiring an additional 112,536 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25,908 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $88,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AXS opened at $100.39 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $93.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.24. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $101.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.