Swedbank AB Raises Position in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL)

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) by 268.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,261,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 919,793 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Arch Capital Group were worth $116,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Arch Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Arch Capital Group during the third quarter worth about $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Arch Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arch Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACGL traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $94.66. 351,409 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,863,351. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.42. The company has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.64. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $116.47.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.05. Arch Capital Group had a net margin of 33.86% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arch Capital Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $5.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ACGL shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Arch Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.00.

About Arch Capital Group

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.