Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 283,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 93,426 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $25,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,147,000. FIL Ltd bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,118,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXS. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.73 and a 200 day moving average of $91.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $68.02 and a 12-month high of $102.36.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 17.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About AXIS Capital

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.