AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lowered its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,333,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 30,849 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 1.59% of AXIS Capital worth $118,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 329,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,108,000 after purchasing an additional 13,018 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,872 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $88,147,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXS. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $99.57 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $60.45 and a 52 week high of $101.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day moving average is $87.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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.