Jennison Associates LLC Cuts Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Jennison Associates trimmed its position in Axis Capital by 21.4% in Q4, selling 285,672 shares and holding 1,048,778 shares (about 1.36% of the company) valued at $112.3M.
• Axis reported quarterly EPS of $3.42, beating estimates by $0.09 while revenue of $1.64B missed expectations; the company showed strong profitability with an 18.72% ROE and a 15.37% net margin.
• The stock traded near $101.22 (up 3.3%), yields 1.7% on a $0.44 quarterly dividend, and carries a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $122.80.

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,048,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 285,672 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.36% of Axis Capital worth $112,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Axis Capital by 0.5% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,222,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $117,157,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 352,050 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,726,000 after purchasing an additional 136,313 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 970,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $92,965,000 after purchasing an additional 225,569 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,118,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $762,029,000 after buying an additional 43,901 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:AXS traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.22. The stock had a trading volume of 140,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,315. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.55 and a 200 day moving average of $101.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $110.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital's payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Axis Capital from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Axis Capital from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Nine investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.80.

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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