First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lowered its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 192,363 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $17,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS stock opened at $101.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.23. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $68.02 and a one year high of $101.61. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 17.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AXS. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.75.

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.