234,726 Shares in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Acquired by Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought 234,726 shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter, a stake valued at about $25.1 million. The position makes AXS its 6th largest holding and represents about 0.30% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment is still positive overall, with eight Buy ratings and two Hold ratings. The stock’s consensus target price is $122.10, while several firms recently trimmed their price targets slightly.
• Axis Capital recently reported earnings of $3.42 per share, topping estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share to be paid July 15. The dividend implies a 1.8% yield and a low payout ratio of 13.11%.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 234,726 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,137,000. Axis Capital makes up about 0.6% of Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned 0.30% of Axis Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Axis Capital by 197.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Axis Capital by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 33,306 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in Axis Capital by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 35,230 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,773,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $996,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $137.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.10.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $97.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $100.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.70. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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