Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 17,764 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,764 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $367,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.6% in the 4th 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,147,000. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 728,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,545,000 after purchasing an additional 321,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $94.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $60.64 and a one year high of $101.42.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

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.