ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC Cuts Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,000 shares during the quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC owned 0.19% of Axis Capital worth $14,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the second quarter worth $100,683,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Axis Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,705,000. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,662,000 after purchasing an additional 586,576 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,025,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,716,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $383,698,000 after purchasing an additional 425,790 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $124.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $141.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $100.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $84.81 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.97 and a 200-day moving average of $100.36.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

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.