QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,542,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 worth $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,394 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $95.18 on Wednesday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $90.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.52. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $60.06 and a fifty-two week high of $98.11. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.