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

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,658 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.54% of Employers worth $6,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Employers in the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Employers news, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 3,050 shares of Employers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.59 per share, with a total value of $148,199.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $356,164.70. The trade was a 71.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $51,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,087. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,385 shares of company stock valued at $174,467 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Employers Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of EIG traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,920. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.57 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.06.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $216.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Employers's payout ratio is presently 31.07%.

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.