AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Charles A. Davis Sells 2,139,037 Shares

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.75. The stock had a trading volume of 923,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,099. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $60.06 and a 52-week high of $98.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. 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 market cap of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 is currently 14.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,147,000. FIL Ltd acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Company 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.