O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,485 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Employers were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EIG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Employers by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Employers by 15.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Employers by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Employers during the third quarter valued at about $291,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Employers by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Employers Stock Performance

Shares of Employers stock opened at $51.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.21. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $54.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.06.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 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 company had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.18 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Employers’s payout ratio is 25.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.