Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $10.54 Million Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,327 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of AXIS Capital worth $10,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AXS traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $99.51. 1,202,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,880. The stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $100.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.61 and a 200 day moving average of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. On average, equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 14.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.25.

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.