AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 19,000 shares during the quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.24% of AXIS Capital worth $17,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,147,000. FIL Ltd bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $100.58. The stock had a trading volume of 184,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,829. The stock's 50 day moving average is $95.28 and its 200 day moving average is $90.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $68.02 and a twelve month high of $101.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. AXIS Capital's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital 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.