Royce & Associates LP Has $34.41 Million Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Royce & Associates LP grew its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 388,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,044 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $34,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third 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. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.25.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $93.66 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $98.11. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $91.16 and its 200-day moving average is $86.51.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.