AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Stock Position Lifted by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 342.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,260 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

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 transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AXS stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.90. The company had a trading volume of 640,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,150. 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 Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $68.02 and a twelve month high of $104.16. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $97.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.32.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AXS. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on 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 restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.