Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 48,833 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 16.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 247,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 48,833 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.32% of Axis Capital worth $23,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 12.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 6.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,605,000 after acquiring an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 86.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 21,892 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Axis Capital by 42.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 33.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Compass Point set a $121.00 target price on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $106.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.18. The stock has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.63. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $84.81 and a 52-week high of $110.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.90%. Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.21%.

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.