Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 368,016 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Pzena Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 62.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 368,016 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of AXIS Capital worth $19,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $88,175,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,366,000 after acquiring an additional 348,993 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 131.9% during 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 valued at $20,265,000 after acquiring an additional 144,792 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXS shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.3 %

AXS opened at $91.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.83 and a 200 day moving average of $86.04.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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.