Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 18,108 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 18,108 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.36% of AXIS Capital worth $23,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 424.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $99,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $93.55 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $53.49 and a 52 week high of $94.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.01.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 24.41%.

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.