Royce & Associates LP Has $29.15 Million Position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 366,193 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 78,787 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $29,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in AXIS Capital by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 100,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,550,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,654,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $86.73 on Friday. 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 Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $53.48 and a 12 month high of $86.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.42 and a 200-day moving average of $75.02. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

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.