Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Purchased by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management increased its stake in Axis Capital by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 165,946 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 500,401 shares worth about $53.6 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with eight Buy ratings and two Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $122.10, while several firms recently trimmed their targets.
• Axis Capital reported Q1 earnings of $3.42 per share, beating estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share payable July 15, implying a 1.7% annualized yield.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 500,401 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 165,946 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.65% of Axis Capital worth $53,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the third quarter valued at $1,118,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,954,373 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $762,029,000 after purchasing an additional 43,901 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 439,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,118,000 after purchasing an additional 95,207 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 836,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,171,000 after purchasing an additional 201,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 280,672 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,888,000 after purchasing an additional 37,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $101.47 on Monday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $110.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.79.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. Axis Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

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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