AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 61.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 593,252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 926,720 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $47,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,811 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 30.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,928,000 after buying an additional 545,546 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $17,065,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 226,956 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.42. The company had a trading volume of 21,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.50. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $53.49 and a 1-year high of $86.92.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

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.