Swiss National Bank Sells 900 Shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Employers worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Employers by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Employers by 15.2% in 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Employers by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Employers by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total value of $101,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,295,812.20. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $450,963.24. The trade was a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Employers Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EIG opened at $50.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.68 and a 200 day moving average of $49.93. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 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.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $216.60 million during 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%. As a group, equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Employers’s payout ratio is presently 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.