Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Has $637,000 Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 961 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXS. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $94.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.06 and a 12 month high of $98.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Equities research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

About AXIS Capital

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.