Man Group plc Sells 2,916 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Man Group plc cut its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,376 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,916 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.15% of AXIS Capital worth $10,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,265,000 after acquiring an additional 17,764 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $305,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $281,680,000 after acquiring an additional 53,514 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,344,000 after buying an additional 134,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $181,045,000 after buying an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $100.61. The company had a trading volume of 504,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,875. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $97.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.74. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $68.02 and a 1-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. The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

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

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 17.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.