Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Cuts Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 136,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 19,907 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $12,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,039 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $90.19 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $54.31 and a fifty-two week high of $94.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.20. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.88 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AXS. UBS Group upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.25.

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.