Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Employers were worth $687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EIG. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Employers by 300.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 31,131 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 79,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 12,422 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 48,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 9,138 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Employers by 24.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 34,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 6,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Employers during the third quarter valued at approximately $291,000. 80.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Employers Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Employers stock opened at $52.17 on Tuesday. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.67 and a 52 week high of $54.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.66.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. The business 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Employers 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 directly owns 25,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. This represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,801 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.