Legato Capital Management LLC Buys 5,474 Shares of Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG)

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,474 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Employers worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 5,792.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 108,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,506,000 after acquiring an additional 106,879 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 28,343 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Employers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $860,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 439.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 50,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 41,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 62,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,191,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John M. Mutschink sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.12, for a total transaction of $98,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,789 shares in the company, valued at $972,035.68. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Pedraja purchased 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.59 per share, with a total value of $148,199.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 7,330 shares in the company, valued at $356,164.70. The trade was a 71.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Employers Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of EIG traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 159,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,379. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.54. Employers Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $44.89 and a 52 week high of $54.44. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.54.

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, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Increases Dividend

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

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.