Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $95.00 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $60.06 and a 1 year high of $95.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

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.