Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 32,563 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,319,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,563 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $85,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,845,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 185.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 488,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,051,000 after purchasing an additional 317,169 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $486,587,000 after purchasing an additional 207,233 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 989,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,799,000 after buying an additional 204,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,815,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 87,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 608,731. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $52.02 and a fifty-two week high of $74.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.44 and its 200-day moving average is $63.21.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $840,231.09. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 6,425 shares of company stock valued at $444,351 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.