Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 7,156 Shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,156 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.10% of Employers worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Employers by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Employers by 15.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 1.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Employers by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Employers by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Employers

In other news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 7.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total transaction 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. 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 sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Employers Price Performance

NYSE EIG traded down $3.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 291,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,932. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.08. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.67 and a 12 month high of $54.44.

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

Employers Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers's payout ratio is currently 25.48%.

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.