Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 318,784 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 24.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.94% of AXIS Capital worth $129,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 55.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:AXS traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.50. 219,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 569,369. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $53.49 and a one year high of $86.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.50.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

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.