Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Grows Stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 225,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,748 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.91% of Employers worth $11,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Employers by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 579,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,800,000 after buying an additional 3,349 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Employers by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,953,000 after buying an additional 48,844 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Employers by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 423,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,684,000 after buying an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Employers by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 280,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,248,000 after buying an additional 10,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Employers by 158.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 205,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,538,000 after buying an additional 126,186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Employers Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of EIG stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.04. 7,623 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,212. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.67 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.29.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $221.18 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers's payout ratio is currently 25.48%.

Insider Activity at Employers

In related news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of Employers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total value of $101,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of Employers stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total value of $70,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. The trade was a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Employers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Employers Profile

Employers Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry primarily in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Employers and Cerity. It offers workers' compensation insurance to small businesses in low to medium hazard industries under the Employers and Cerity brands.