O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 7,485 Shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,485 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Employers worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EIG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Employers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,935,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,451,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Employers by 158.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 205,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,538,000 after purchasing an additional 126,186 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Employers by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,953,000 after purchasing an additional 48,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Employers by 300.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 31,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Employers Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE EIG traded up $1.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.54. 37,537 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 133,287. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.08. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Employers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers's payout ratio is 25.48%.

Insider Activity at Employers

In other news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total transaction of $101,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,295,812.20. The trade was a 7.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Employers

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.