Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Arch Capital Group Ltd. $ACGL

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,274,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,253,941 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Arch Capital Group were worth $314,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Arch Capital Group by 30.0% in the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 130,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,479,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 270,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,984,000 after buying an additional 17,655 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 211,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,278,000 after buying an additional 6,927 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,334,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arch Capital Group

In related news, Director Brian S. Posner sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.66, for a total value of $58,980.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel Joseph Houston bought 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $94.08 per share, for a total transaction of $498,624.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,803.20. The trade was a 114.84% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arch Capital Group Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $101.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $82.44 and a fifty-two week high of $105.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.55.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 24.64% and a return on equity of 17.61%. Analysts predict that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACGL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arch Capital Group from $102.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.12.

Arch Capital Group Profile

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACGL) is a Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company that underwrites a broad range of property and casualty, mortgage, and specialty risk products. The company operates through a group of underwriting subsidiaries and platforms to provide insurance, reinsurance and related risk solutions tailored to commercial, institutional and individual clients.

Arch’s product mix includes treaty and facultative reinsurance, primary casualty and property insurance, mortgage insurance and other specialty lines.