8,288 Shares in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Purchased by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 447.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 177.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $61.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.23. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 19.25%. On average, analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

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.