AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,373 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,993 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $2,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,680,000 after acquiring an additional 53,514 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,110,000 after purchasing an additional 112,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in AXIS Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $146,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25,908 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,175,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 2.0 %

AXS opened at $99.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a PEG 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 $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.