Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,876,890 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 56,100 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 2.20% of AXIS Capital worth $103,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 10,028 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,833 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,830 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,688 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 6,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.33.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.6 %

AXS stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 621,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,331. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $72.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business's 50 day moving average price is $65.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.01. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. AXIS Capital's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director W Marston Becker acquired 3,025 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.58 per share, with a total value of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,842.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director W Marston Becker purchased 3,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,016 shares in the company, valued at $644,553.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.