AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS – Get Rating) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,206 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.05% of AXIS Capital worth $2,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 447.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 125.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.89% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $58.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $48.32 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.61.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.25. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of AXIS Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Sunday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of AXIS Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, December 16th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.50.

AXIS Capital Company Profile

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AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of various insurance, and reinsurance products and services. It operates through the Insurance and Reinsurance segments. The Insurance segment offers property, marine, terrorism, aviation, political risk, professional lines, liability, and accident, and health insurance products.