Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 132,417 Shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,089,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 132,417 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Arch Capital Group were worth $778,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACGL. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arch Capital Group in the first quarter worth $27,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Arch Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Arch Capital Group during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Arch Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Arch Capital Group to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arch Capital Group

In other news, CEO Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 7,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.48, for a total value of $706,177.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 795,718 shares in the company, valued at $73,588,000.64. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John M. Pasquesi sold 75,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.01, for a total value of $7,056,390.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 579,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,452,284.18. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,976 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,038 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Arch Capital Group Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of ACGL opened at $88.38 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.51. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $82.49 and a 12-month high of $116.47.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Arch Capital Group Company Profile

Arch Capital Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance products worldwide. The company's Insurance segment offers primary and excess casualty coverages; loss sensitive primary casualty insurance programs; directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices and fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, and other financial related coverages; medical professional and general liability insurance coverages; and workers' compensation and umbrella liability, as well as commercial automobile and inland marine products.