Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,334,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 115,686 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $127,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Axis Capital by 19.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 25.6% in the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.4% in the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 49,970 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,787,000 after acquiring an additional 5,512 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 90,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,622,000 after purchasing an additional 35,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 4.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $101.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $84.81 and a one year high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 18.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.89.

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.