DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $5.24 Million Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main cut its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,136 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 112,092 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $5,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $101.23 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $68.02 and a 12 month high of $101.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.47 and a 200-day moving average of $91.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

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.