Allianz Asset Management GmbH Raises Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 41.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,370,479 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400,068 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $146,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 5.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Axis Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Axis Capital by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 2,536 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Axis Capital by 28.7% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE AXS opened at $97.66 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.79. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.