Madison Asset Management LLC Has $4.59 Million Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,684 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Axis Capital worth $4,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 5.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% during the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 26,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,557,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 5.3% during the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 8.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXS. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.10.

Axis Capital Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $97.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.54. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $110.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.