Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 4,045 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,045 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $4,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.2 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $92.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.28. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $60.06 and a 12 month high of $94.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Equities analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.25%.

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.