AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,182 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 721.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 3.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $5,767,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $486,587,000 after purchasing an additional 207,233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $60.64 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.52.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

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.