New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 62,758 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of AXIS Capital worth $3,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXS. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 338,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,751,000 after acquiring an additional 4,087 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,503,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 70,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,913,000 after buying an additional 34,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $65.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $66.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. AXIS Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.