AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio reduced its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,142 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,000. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 173.9% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 81,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,577,000 after purchasing an additional 51,557 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 721.0% during the third quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 58,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 51,524 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 323,408 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,767,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.6 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $62.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. On average, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.78%.

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.