Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $10.92 Million Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 108,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 28,020 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.14% of AXIS Capital worth $10,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,147,000. FIL Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,775,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,366,000 after purchasing an additional 348,993 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:AXS opened at $107.07 on Monday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $68.02 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company's 50 day moving average is $98.18 and its 200-day moving average is $94.08.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. AXIS Capital's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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