Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 473,608 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 174.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 744,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 473,608 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $77,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.9% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 6,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 6.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,280 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $92.12 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $77.21 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.89.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 14.30%.The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on Axis Capital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.29.

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.