AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,405 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 19.9% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 158.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 10,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $781,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXS. StockNews.com lowered shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed 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, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $93.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $57.99 and a 1-year high of $94.89. 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 (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. AXIS Capital’s 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.