Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,939 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 24,002 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.42% of Axis Capital worth $33,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,265,000 after purchasing an additional 17,764 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $305,219,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $238,344,000 after purchasing an additional 134,157 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.26. 347,231 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 626,167. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $101.53 and its 200-day moving average is $95.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.81. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $70.16 and a twelve month high of $107.19.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $108.25.

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.