Vanguard Group Inc. Has $148.78 Million Stock Position in Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG) by 0.7%, now owning approximately 12.11% of the company, valued at $148.78 million.
• The company's stock was recently upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, with an average price target of $58.00.
• Employers Holdings announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 31.22%.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,938,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,637 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.11% of Employers worth $148,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Employers by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Employers by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Employers by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Employers in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Employers by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Employers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $58.00.

Employers Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Employers stock opened at $42.7830 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.04 and a 200-day moving average of $47.65. Employers Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $38.19 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.52.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.46). Employers had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 11.37%.The firm had revenue of $246.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.17 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Employers's dividend payout ratio is 31.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In related news, EVP John M. Mutschink sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.12, for a total value of $98,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $972,035.68. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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