Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,234,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 77,512 shares during the quarter. Axis Capital makes up approximately 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 1.57% of Axis Capital worth $123,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $88,147,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,775,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 7,053.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,941 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,366,000 after acquiring an additional 348,993 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $101.94. The company had a trading volume of 878,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $68.49 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The company has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.64.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AXS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.75.

About Axis Capital

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.