Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Sells 30,849 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lessened its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,333,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 30,849 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $118,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,680,000 after buying an additional 53,514 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 7.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,110,000 after purchasing an additional 112,536 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25,908 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,921,000 after acquiring an additional 43,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $88,175,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.1 %

AXS opened at $99.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.82. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $60.45 and a one year high of $101.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

AXIS Capital Company 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.