Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys New Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of 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 institutional investor purchased 998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $88,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $88,175,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $88,147,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,775,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,118,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7,053.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,366,000 after purchasing an additional 348,993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXS shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com lowered AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $88.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $60.45 and a 1-year high of $101.42. 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 (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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.