Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Acquires 73,209 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 89.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,979 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 73,209 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.20% of Axis Capital worth $15,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 305,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,111,000 after purchasing an additional 24,891 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,673,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of Axis Capital stock traded down $3.87 on Wednesday, reaching $98.57. 439,796 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,628. The company has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.81. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $68.49 and a 52 week high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50-day moving average is $101.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.32.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is 17.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Axis Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.