Teza Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,444 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 11,086 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $3,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 53.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 2,765 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 3,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXS shares. UBS Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.34. The stock had a trading volume of 166,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,783. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.53. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $68.02 and a fifty-two week high of $103.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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

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.