AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,562 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 70,817 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.45% of AXIS Capital worth $33,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 1.7%

AXS traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $99.28. 36,433 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 592,392. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $68.02 and a fifty-two week high of $103.85. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $96.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.39.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 17.46%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.75.

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.