AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 38,577 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $6,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,811 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 226,956 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,538,000 after buying an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 113.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 315,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,484,000 after buying an additional 167,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.14.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $93.04 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $53.49 and a 52-week high of $94.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

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.