FIL Ltd Buys Shares of 495,300 AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

FIL Ltd bought a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 495,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $43,893,000. FIL Ltd owned about 0.59% of AXIS Capital as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in AXIS Capital by 7.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $134,110,000 after acquiring an additional 112,536 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $146,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25,908 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,175,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.62. 387,971 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 605,396. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.24. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.