Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 6.4% during Q1, now owning approximately 458,289 shares valued at around $45.9 million.
• Analysts have given Axis Capital an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $110.86, while UBS raised its price objective from $105 to $115.
• Axis Capital reported earnings of $3.29 per share for its latest quarter, outpacing estimates, while also announcing a dividend of $0.44 per share with a yield of 1.9%.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 458,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 27,693 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.58% of Axis Capital worth $45,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Axis Capital by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,626,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Axis Capital by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AXS. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.86.

Axis Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $93.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.81. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $70.16 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $100.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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