Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,918,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,988 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.81% of Employers worth $149,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EIG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Employers in the fourth quarter valued at $7,451,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Employers by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,953,000 after buying an additional 48,844 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Employers by 300.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 31,131 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Employers in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,112,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Employers by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 24,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 15,617 shares during the period. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In other Employers news, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,816. The trade was a 4.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. This trade represents a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Employers Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Employers stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $47.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,269. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.29. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.04.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. The business 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, analysts expect that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors 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 yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.48%.

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.