Madison Asset Management LLC Has $3.65 Million Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,862 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,390 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 37,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $114.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $116.63.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXS. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.45.

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.