River Road Asset Management LLC Has $105.32 Million Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,902,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,494 shares during the quarter. AXIS Capital accounts for approximately 1.5% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 2.23% of AXIS Capital worth $105,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $48,577,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,531.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 631,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,059,000 after purchasing an additional 593,181 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 89.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after purchasing an additional 581,409 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,948,453 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $480,644,000 after purchasing an additional 288,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 41.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 888,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,749,000 after purchasing an additional 260,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.9 %

AXS traded down $0.54 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 591,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,673. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 1st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 43.78%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.