Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 126,393 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,056 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $11,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter valued at about $638,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $95.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.05 and its 200 day moving average is $89.32. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $60.45 and a 12-month high of $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 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.