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

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH significantly increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 174.6%, acquiring an additional 473,608 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 744,842 shares valued at approximately $77 million.
• Equities analysts remain optimistic about Axis Capital, with Wells Fargo setting a price target of $123.00 and multiple analysts rating the stock as "Buy" or "Outperform."
• Axis Capital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield, which will be payable to shareholders on October 17th.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 174.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 744,842 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 473,608 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.95% of Axis Capital worth $77,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $330,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,666 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,776,000 after buying an additional 10,008 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,953 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Axis Capital Trading Down 4.1%

AXS stock opened at $92.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.89. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $77.21 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.73.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Axis Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.92%.

Axis Capital 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.

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