Paradice Investment Management LLC Sells 7,510 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Paradice Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,510 shares during the period. Axis Capital comprises approximately 2.7% of Paradice Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Paradice Investment Management LLC owned 0.17% of Axis Capital worth $14,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Axis Capital by 0.5% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,222,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,157,000 after buying an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 63.2% during the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 352,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,726,000 after buying an additional 136,313 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 30.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 970,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,965,000 after buying an additional 225,569 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,118,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 110,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,573,000 after acquiring an additional 20,484 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.80.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $101.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $110.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $101.84 and its 200 day moving average is $101.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

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.