Savant Capital LLC Has $4.13 Million Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,627 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC owned 0.06% of AXIS Capital worth $4,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AXS. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of AXS opened at $90.54 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $59.53 and a 52 week high of $94.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.