Raymond James & Associates Sells 1,339 Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,339 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.23% of AMERISAFE worth $2,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMSF. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 225,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,211,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 18,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 55.2% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 3,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AMERISAFE stock opened at $48.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $934.99 million, a P/E ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.59. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.34 and a 52-week high of $57.06.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.08. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 20.24% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The business had revenue of $73.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.15 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMSF. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Monday. TheStreet raised AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

AMERISAFE Company Profile

AMERISAFE, Inc, an insurance holding company, underwrites workers' compensation insurance in the United States. The company provides benefits to injured employees for temporary or permanent disability, death, and medical and hospital expenses. It sells its products through retail and wholesale brokers and agents; and small and mid-sized employers engaged in hazardous industries, including construction, trucking, logging and lumber, agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, and maritime.