Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 853,562 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 73,736 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.02% of AXIS Capital worth $67,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth about $99,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.04. 511,710 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,403. The firm's fifty day moving average is $82.53 and its 200-day moving average is $76.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.90. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $53.49 and a 52 week high of $94.39. 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 (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.14.

AXIS Capital Company 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.