Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 53,313 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced 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 & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,599,516 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53,313 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.28% of AXIS Capital worth $762,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 62,951 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $816,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,440,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $851,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 487,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,166,000 after buying an additional 47,119 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $99.57 on Friday. The firm 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $101.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.82.

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

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.