Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys New Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has acquired a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited, purchasing 25,229 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• Axis Capital recently reported earnings of $3.29 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a 12.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9%, with a low payout ratio of 16.92%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 25,229 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,619,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Axis Capital by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,369 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Axis Capital by 342.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 22,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 17,260 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $319,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $610,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $94.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.77. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year 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.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXS shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital 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 transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, 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 valued at $1,188,048 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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