Foundry Partners LLC Invests $3.50 Million in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 63,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,503,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after buying an additional 581,409 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $486,587,000 after acquiring an additional 207,233 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $6,026,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 165.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 168,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,482,000 after purchasing an additional 104,915 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,767,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $62.16 on Tuesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.40.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

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.