Polar Capital Holdings Plc Cuts Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lessened its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,614 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 17,313 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.20% of AXIS Capital worth $14,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $549,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 2,765 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $100.95 on Friday. 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 Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $68.02 and a 1-year high of $102.36. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $96.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.77.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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