AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Stake Lifted by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 1,132.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 87,729 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.11% of AXIS Capital worth $5,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $1,785,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,503,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 721.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 58,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,307,000 after acquiring an additional 51,524 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 323,408 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,230,000 after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,767,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AXS traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.65. 608,038 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 635,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.86. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $62.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.49.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.78%.

About AXIS Capital

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.