Millennium Management LLC Sells 766,852 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 86.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,375 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 766,852 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.14% of AXIS Capital worth $10,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 283,186 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,095,000 after buying an additional 93,426 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 308,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,380,000 after purchasing an additional 9,078 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 197.7% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 69,564 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,165,000 after purchasing an additional 52,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $101.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 40,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,406. The company has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $97.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.05. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $68.02 and a one year high of $103.85. 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 (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.46%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Company 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.