Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 22,541 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,413,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 22,541 shares during the period. AXIS Capital accounts for about 1.1% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 1.67% of AXIS Capital worth $99,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 269,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,013,000 after buying an additional 6,665 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 693,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,965,000 after buying an additional 71,460 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 45,550 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,218,000 after buying an additional 9,581 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 90,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,383,000 after buying an additional 4,550 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target 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 increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.50.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $75.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.05 and a 200 day moving average of $69.18. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $52.90 and a 12 month high of $80.50.

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