Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 695 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 8.1% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.50.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $77.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.89. 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 $80.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.38.

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

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.