SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 947 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 947 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $94.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.06 and a twelve month high of $98.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.63 and a 200 day moving average of $85.66. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.