Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 118,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,327 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of AXIS Capital worth $10,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $453,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS stock opened at $95.00 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $98.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.00. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About AXIS Capital

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.