Boston Partners Grows Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Boston Partners raised its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 710,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,448 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $62,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $94.97 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $60.45 and a 12-month high of $98.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.84.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.