Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Arch Capital Group were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 15,917 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 22,486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 9,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Arch Capital Group by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Axecap Investments LLC now owns 35,746 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 7,005 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arch Capital Group

In other news, CEO Nicolas Papadopoulo sold 7,636 shares of Arch Capital Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 795,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,588,000.64. The trade was a 0.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Francois Morin sold 12,630 shares of the business’s 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 now owns 274,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,979,328.98. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,976 shares of company stock worth $10,531,038. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arch Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACGL opened at $92.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $82.49 and a 1 year high of $116.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.91. The company has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53.

Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. Arch Capital Group had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 24.73%. Arch Capital Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arch Capital Group Ltd. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ACGL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

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.