Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL - Free Report) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,438,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 337,786 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.98% of Arch Capital Group worth $832,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in Arch Capital Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 50.7% during the second quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 309 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group during the third quarter worth $46,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arch Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACGL traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $99.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,032,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,660,570. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $72.85 and a fifty-two week high of $116.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $109.67 and its 200-day moving average is $102.91.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 33.86% and a return on equity of 18.94%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arch Capital Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $5.00 dividend.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Francois Morin sold 11,460 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.46, for a total value of $1,174,191.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 221,779 shares in the company, valued at $22,723,476.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ACGL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Arch Capital Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.88.

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.