Legal & General Group Plc Sells 9,056 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 126,393 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,056 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.15% of AXIS Capital worth $11,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AXS opened at $95.23 on Thursday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $60.45 and a 1-year high of $101.42. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.32.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.

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.

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