VELA Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

VELA Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. AXIS Capital makes up 1.2% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of AXIS Capital worth $4,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,366,000 after acquiring an additional 348,993 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 131.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 254,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,265,000 after acquiring an additional 144,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $96.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.06 and a 12 month high of $96.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

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.