Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 6,219 Shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,219 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.60% of Employers worth $7,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EIG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 312.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 15.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $137,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Employers Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of EIG stock opened at $49.14 on Friday. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $54.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.59 and its 200 day moving average is $49.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.21.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.18 million. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Employers news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total value of $101,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,458 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Employers 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.