Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Holdings Cut by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. reduced its stake in Axis Capital Holdings by 7.3%, now holding 255,057 shares, making it the firm's 8th largest position.
• Axis Capital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 16.92%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Axis Capital, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $111.43, despite recent upgrades from UBS and Wells Fargo.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lessened its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 255,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 20,014 shares during the period. Axis Capital accounts for approximately 2.7% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. owned about 0.32% of Axis Capital worth $25,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,846,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $319,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE AXS traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.44. The stock had a trading volume of 796,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $72.85 and a one year high of $107.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.74.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.92%.

About Axis Capital

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.