Pitcairn Co. Buys 237 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,394 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXS shares. StockNews.com downgraded AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 8.4 %

AXS stock opened at $90.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. 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 Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $101.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.96 and its 200-day moving average is $88.48.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital 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.