Millennium Management LLC Purchases 226,956 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1,644.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 226,956 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $17,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 9.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,538,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 1,116.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 8,176 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 98,446 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,955,000 after purchasing an additional 30,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,417,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 157,110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXIS Capital stock opened at $82.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $52.90 and a twelve month high of $82.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.26. The company has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.86.

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.