Pitcairn Co. Grows Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Pitcairn Co. grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,110,000 after buying an additional 112,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $146,309,000 after buying an additional 25,908 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 3.6% in 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 buying an additional 43,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $88,175,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $90.68 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $101.42. 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 (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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.