AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 50.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 62,758 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of AXIS Capital worth $3,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 2,642.2% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.33.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.68. The stock had a trading volume of 683,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,677. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $66.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.79.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.17 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 26.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.