Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $4.18 Million Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,154 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,055 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.06% of AXIS Capital worth $4,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% during the fourth 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. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AXS traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.61. 92,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,236. The company has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $68.02 and a 52-week high of $103.67. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $96.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.26.

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

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.