Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth $31,118,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,366,000 after buying an additional 348,993 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 131.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 254,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,265,000 after purchasing an additional 144,792 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after buying an additional 121,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXS. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $94.97 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $98.11.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) 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, analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

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.