T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 12,571 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 4.12% of AXIS Capital worth $305,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 17,324 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,679,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 32,720 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,900,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1,495.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 6,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,265,000 after acquiring an additional 17,764 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $95.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.44 and its 200-day moving average is $89.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $60.64 and a 12-month high of $101.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.