AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Sells $199,999,959.50 in Stock

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $92.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.77. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $60.45 and a 12-month high of $98.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,265,000 after buying an additional 17,764 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $305,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,344,000 after purchasing an additional 134,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.