Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 35.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,666 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXS. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 94.0% during the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AXS. Bank of America reduced their target price on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $103.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $84.81 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.85 and a 200-day moving average of $100.16. The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.61.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.21%.

Axis Capital Company 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.