7,025 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Acquired by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,025 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,175,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,366,000 after purchasing an additional 348,993 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 131.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 254,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,265,000 after purchasing an additional 144,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AXS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.25.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.23. 73,765 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 553,188. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $98.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company's 50-day moving average is $91.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.84.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 14.25%.

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.