Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 299,573 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $373,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 12.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 6.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,605,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 86.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 21,892 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Axis Capital by 42.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 33.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $114.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.73. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $116.63. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.45.

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.