AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,650,965 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 25,908 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.97% of AXIS Capital worth $146,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXS. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.7 %

AXIS Capital stock traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.14. 666,622 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 698,001. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $57.95 and a twelve month high of $94.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.04 and a 200-day moving average of $83.03.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 14.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Company 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.