BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 23,377 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 8.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 300,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,377 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $23,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXS. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the first quarter valued at about $5,137,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $507,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 84.4% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 40,404 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 18,490 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXS shares. Bank of America upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $88.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.66. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $53.49 and a 52-week high of $89.31.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.