Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,156 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.10% of Employers worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Employers by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 579,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Employers by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 423,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,684,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Employers in the 4th quarter worth $7,451,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 119,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 18.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 79,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 12,422 shares in the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Employers

In related news, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $51,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,087. This trade represents a 4.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $70,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Employers Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Employers stock opened at $50.63 on Tuesday. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.67 and a twelve month high of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.70 and its 200 day moving average is $50.02.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.18 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers’s payout ratio is currently 25.48%.

Employers Company 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.