Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 62,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,533,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,110,000 after buying an additional 112,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,309,000 after buying an additional 25,908 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $88,175,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 15.0% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 758,311 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,369,000 after purchasing an additional 99,119 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.0 %

AXS stock opened at $95.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.00. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $60.45 and a 52 week high of $98.11. 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 posted 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed 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 objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.25.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale 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.

About AXIS Capital

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.