Cerity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $671,000. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Employers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Employers in the fourth quarter valued at $8,935,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Employers in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,451,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Employers by 158.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 205,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,538,000 after buying an additional 126,186 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Employers by 5,792.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 108,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,506,000 after purchasing an additional 106,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Employers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,688,000. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Employers Price Performance

NYSE:EIG traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.92. The stock had a trading volume of 159,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,379. Employers Holdings Inc has a one year low of $44.89 and a one year high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. Employers had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $202.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Employers's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.07%.

Insider Activity at Employers

In other Employers news, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 3,050 shares of Employers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired 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 owned 7,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $356,164.70. This represents a 71.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John M. Mutschink sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.12, for a total transaction of $98,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $972,035.68. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Employers 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.