Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Position in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,022,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,241 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 8.18% of Employers worth $103,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EIG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Employers by 312.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Employers by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Employers by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Employers by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Employers in the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Employers Stock Performance

EIG stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.41. 75,305 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 134,929. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.26 and a 200-day moving average of $50.07. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.57 and a 1 year high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.29.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $202.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers's payout ratio is 25.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In related news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. The trade was a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.