Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Purchases 8,000 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 116.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 305,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,111,000 after purchasing an additional 24,891 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 59,837 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,303,000 after buying an additional 18,766 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 18,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,009.5% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 68,177 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,042,000 after buying an additional 62,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.01. The company had a trading volume of 727,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,911. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $60.45 and a 12-month high of $98.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.89.

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

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 14.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.88.

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.