Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Acquires New Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AXS. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% during 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 raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,394,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $111,015,000 after acquiring an additional 33,241 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,921,000 after acquiring an additional 43,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,183,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,209,000 after acquiring an additional 9,181 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $90.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $56.93 and a one year high of $94.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.06 and a 200 day moving average of $82.88.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.25.

About AXIS Capital

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.