Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,277 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.99% of Employers worth $12,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EIG. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Employers by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 39,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,024,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Employers by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 28,343 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Employers in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,135,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Employers by 89.4% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 12,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,694 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Employers by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 31,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total value of $101,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 3,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Employers Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Employers stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, reaching $49.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 135,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,063. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.57 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.10.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $202.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.81 million. Employers had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. This is a boost from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. 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.