Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 7,920 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,844 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,920 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned 0.05% of AXIS Capital worth $3,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,070,000 after buying an additional 121,437 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth $549,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXS shares. 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 cut their price objective on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $93.18. The company had a trading volume of 53,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,025. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $94.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.67. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $60.64 and a one year high of $101.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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.