Schroder Investment Management Group Trims Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Schroder Investment Management Group decreased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 10.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 264,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 31,650 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $25,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,954,373 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $762,029,000 after buying an additional 43,901 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,716,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $383,698,000 after acquiring an additional 425,790 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Axis Capital by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,318,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $317,945,000 after acquiring an additional 74,567 shares during the period. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,662,000 after acquiring an additional 586,576 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $170,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXS shares. Compass Point set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $124.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:AXS opened at $100.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.61. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $84.81 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.32.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 14.21%.

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.