First Manhattan CO. LLC. Lowers Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,363 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 0.23% of AXIS Capital worth $17,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $88,147,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $31,118,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.88. 501,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 594,767. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $68.02 and a 1 year high of $102.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXS. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.