SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 947 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 947 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Connable Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $260,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $1,673,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock opened at $94.75 on Thursday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.06 and a twelve month high of $98.11. The firm has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.63 and its two-hundred 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 posted 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%. Analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.