AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Steph & Co.

Steph & Co. lowered its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,607 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $453,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.25.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.6 %

AXS stock opened at $88.35 on Thursday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $53.88 and a one year high of $94.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

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.