Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 37,630 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 523,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 37,630 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.63% of AXIS Capital worth $46,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $88,147,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $31,366,000 after buying an additional 348,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 131.9% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 144,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $100.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.24. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXS. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

Insider Activity

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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.