Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 72,500 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 36.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 72,500 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.34% of Axis Capital worth $27,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,846,000 after acquiring an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Axis Capital by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $96.04. The stock had a trading volume of 705,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,845. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $101.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $70.16 and a one year high of $107.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.81.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXS. UBS Group upped their target price on Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.25.

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.