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

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 10.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 695 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 33.9% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 276,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,548,000 after purchasing an additional 23,135 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,445,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE AXS opened at $77.67 on Friday. The stock 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $74.48 and its 200-day moving average is $69.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $52.90 and a one year high of $80.50.

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

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.