Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $9.59 Million in Arch Capital Group Ltd. $ACGL

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel opened a new position in Arch Capital Group, buying 100,000 shares valued at about $9.59 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in ACGL remains strong, with 89.07% of the stock owned by institutions and several firms recently increasing or starting positions.
• Wall Street is cautious on the stock overall: analysts have a “Hold” consensus rating, with an average target price of $106.32, while insiders have also recently sold shares.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 100,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,592,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACGL. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Arch Capital Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,413,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 192,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,472,000 after acquiring an additional 21,323 shares in the last quarter. High Ground Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. High Ground Investment Management LLP now owns 1,714,668 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $155,572,000 after purchasing an additional 58,151 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 13,525,402 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,214,987,000 after buying an additional 171,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in Arch Capital Group during the third quarter worth about $210,856,000. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arch Capital Group from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Arch Capital Group from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Arch Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.32.

Insider Activity at Arch Capital Group

In other Arch Capital Group news, insider David Gansberg sold 5,907 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total transaction of $569,257.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 336,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,434,190.83. The trade was a 1.72% 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, CEO Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 21,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.31, for a total transaction of $2,112,078.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 871,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,943,218.14. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 32,837 shares of company stock worth $2,766,946 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Arch Capital Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ACGL stock opened at $94.31 on Wednesday. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $82.44 and a 1 year high of $103.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $95.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.52.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 24.64% and a return on equity of 17.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Arch Capital Group Company 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.

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