Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Position in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.13% of Employers worth $14,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EIG. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Employers by 300.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Employers by 27.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Employers by 18.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 79,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 12,422 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Employers by 22.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 48,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 9,138 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Employers by 1.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Employers Stock Performance

EIG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.43. The company had a trading volume of 125,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,029. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.29. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.67 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $216.60 million for 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, analysts predict that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total value of $70,967.40. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,167,816. The trade was a 4.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.