JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Position in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 158.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 205,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126,186 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Employers were worth $10,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EIG. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Employers during the fourth quarter valued at $1,050,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Employers during the 4th quarter valued at $1,112,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Employers by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,953,000 after buying an additional 48,844 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Employers by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 148,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,624,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Employers by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 280,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,248,000 after acquiring an additional 10,158 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Employers Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Employers stock opened at $48.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.29. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.67 and a 52 week high of $54.44.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $216.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.18 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In related news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of Employers stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total value of $70,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. The trade was a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $51,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,087. The trade was a 4.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.