Cozad Asset Management Inc. Invests $623,000 in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,110,000 after acquiring an additional 112,536 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25,908 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,175,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 758,311 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,369,000 after buying an additional 99,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $95.61 on Tuesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $98.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.68.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (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%. Analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.25.

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.