Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,387,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.80% of Axis Capital worth $148,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the third quarter worth about $56,705,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 374.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 553,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,032,000 after purchasing an additional 436,944 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 196.5% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 484,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,426,000 after purchasing an additional 321,145 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $25,137,000. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 31.8% during the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 836,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,171,000 after purchasing an additional 201,880 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho set a $137.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AXS opened at $95.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.85. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $110.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.