Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Sells 30,849 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC decreased its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,333,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 30,849 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $118,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $300,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $549,000. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $1,840,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,846,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,898,000 after purchasing an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $99.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $68.02 and a 52 week high of $103.85.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.