Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 owned approximately 1.51% of AXIS Capital worth $112,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began 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 target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.88.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 5.8 %

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $93.68 on Thursday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $101.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.