AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio lessened its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,142 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned about 0.05% of AXIS Capital worth $2,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,000. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 173.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 81,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,577,000 after buying an additional 51,557 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 721.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 58,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,307,000 after buying an additional 51,524 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 323,408 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,230,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,767,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXS. UBS Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.6 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $62.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.31.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $4.19. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.78%.

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.