T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 12,571 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 4.12% of AXIS Capital worth $305,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 17,324 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $1,679,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 32,720 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,900,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 1,495.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,748 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 6,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,265,000 after acquiring an additional 17,764 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AXS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $96.08. 99,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,185. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $60.85 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.28.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. On average, analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is 14.25%.

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.