Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $7.45 Million Investment in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 145,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,451,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.59% of Employers as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 312.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Employers by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Employers by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Employers by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Employers during the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Employers Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of EIG opened at $49.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.21. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $54.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.89.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (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 net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 8.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Employers

In other Employers news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total transaction of $70,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $51,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,087. This trade represents a 4.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.