Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,044 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.46% of AXIS Capital worth $34,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $88,175,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 131.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AXS shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 2.2 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $93.66 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $60.45 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 50-day moving average price is $91.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.51. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. 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.