Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 22,658 Shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,658 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Employers worth $6,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EIG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Employers by 312.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Employers during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Employers by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Employers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. 80.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Employers Stock Performance

EIG stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.87. 9,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 138,716. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.56. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $40.57 and a one year high of $54.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.05.

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

Employers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Employers's payout ratio is presently 31.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In other news, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,816. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $272,707 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by 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.