AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 65.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,136 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 112,092 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned about 0.07% of AXIS Capital worth $5,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.6%

AXIS Capital stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $100.29. The company had a trading volume of 171,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,288. The firm has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $68.02 and a 1 year high of $102.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.63.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXS. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company 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.