Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Takes Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $89.99 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $89.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.87. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $60.06 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.