ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC Sells 11,000 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 4.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 222,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $17,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.14.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $93.04 on Monday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $53.49 and a 12-month high of $94.39. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

About AXIS Capital

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.