Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,253,941 Shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. $ACGL

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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. owned 0.92% of Arch Capital Group worth $314,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,944,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $282,405,000 after buying an additional 121,090 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 683,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,539,000 after buying an additional 53,661 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 187,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,024,000 after buying an additional 17,923 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Arch Capital Group by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,548,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $148,488,000 after acquiring an additional 518,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates grew its position in Arch Capital Group by 5.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 2,724,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $247,206,000 after acquiring an additional 141,223 shares during the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arch Capital Group Price Performance

ACGL opened at $101.53 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $82.44 and a 52-week high of $105.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.55.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 17.61% and a net margin of 24.64%.The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arch Capital Group news, Director Brian S. Posner sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.66, for a total value of $58,980.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel Joseph Houston bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $94.08 per share, with a total value of $498,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,803.20. This trade represents a 114.84% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACGL. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $120.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $102.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arch Capital Group 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.