AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,650 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.18% of AXIS Capital worth $13,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,680,000 after acquiring an additional 53,514 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,309,000 after buying an additional 25,908 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $88,175,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $88,147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $95.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.05 and a 200-day moving average of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $60.45 and a 1-year high of $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released 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%. Equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

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.