Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 6,432 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 25.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $3,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 12.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,716,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $383,698,000 after buying an additional 425,790 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 95.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $185,685,000 after acquiring an additional 903,107 shares in the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,662,000 after acquiring an additional 586,576 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $170,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $100,683,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.67.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AXS stock opened at $108.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.91 and a 200-day moving average of $98.24. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $83.90 and a 12-month high of $109.23.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 16.08%.The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.55%.

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.