Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Increases Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,844 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned about 0.05% of AXIS Capital worth $3,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $94.62 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 7.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.28.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share 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 analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.