Savant Capital LLC Sells 55,700 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 92.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 55,700 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth $43,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 1,062.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $137.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.10.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $95.37 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $110.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.51 and a 200 day moving average of $101.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 7.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.