J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Decreases Stake in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Arch Capital Group by 20.6%, selling 35,676 shares, leaving it with 137,669 shares valued at approximately $13.24 million.
• Recent insider trading shows CFO Francois Morin sold 12,630 shares for about $1.19 million, marking a 4.40% decrease in his position.
• Arch Capital Group's shares recently opened at $88.00 and it has a strong earnings report with $2.58 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.30.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL - Free Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 35,676 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Arch Capital Group were worth $13,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACGL. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Arch Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Arch Capital Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 116.3% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 279 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arch Capital Group Trading Up 1.1%

ACGL traded up $0.97 on Wednesday, hitting $89.63. 1,034,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,471. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $82.49 and a 12 month high of $116.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.49.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 19.49%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arch Capital Group

In other Arch Capital Group news, insider John M. Pasquesi sold 75,060 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.01, for a total transaction of $7,056,390.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 579,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,452,284.18. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Francois Morin sold 12,630 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.58, for a total value of $1,194,545.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 274,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,979,328.98. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,340 shares of company stock worth $9,824,861 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Arch Capital Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 price target (down previously from $124.00) on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Monday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Arch Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arch Capital Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arch Capital Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.07.

Arch Capital Group 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.