Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.3 %

AXIS Capital stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $91.69. 877,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 552,693. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $98.11. The business's 50-day moving average price is $90.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.04.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. On average, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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.