Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Acquired by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,266 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.06% of Axis Capital worth $5,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S increased its stake in Axis Capital by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 125,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,404,000 after buying an additional 31,830 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 18,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after buying an additional 5,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd grew its position in Axis Capital by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 10,836 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE AXS opened at $98.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.54. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $110.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.38 and its 200-day moving average is $101.37.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.