AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,818 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,238 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $2,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 33,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $452,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,175,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AXS shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $91.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $98.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. AXIS Capital’s 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.