Vest Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $860,000. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Employers as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Employers by 312.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Employers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 3,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.59 per share, with a total value of $148,199.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $356,164.70. This represents a 71.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John M. Mutschink sold 2,000 shares of Employers 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,789 shares in the company, valued at $972,035.68. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Employers Stock Up 1.2%

Employers stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.47. 122,356 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,686. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.32 and a 200-day moving average of $49.67.

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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $202.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm 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 expect that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This is a boost from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Employers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.