Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 56,100 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,876,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 56,100 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $103,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $486,587,000 after purchasing an additional 207,233 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,788,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,785,000 after acquiring an additional 27,750 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after acquiring an additional 72,913 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,776,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16,031 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 89.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after acquiring an additional 581,409 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $72.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 386,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,687. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.92. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $72.77.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director W Marston Becker acquired 3,025 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. 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.

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.