Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.06 Million Stake in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.53% of Employers worth $6,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Employers by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 502,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,812,000 after acquiring an additional 295,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Employers during the 4th quarter worth about $7,310,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Employers by 247.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 193,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,724,000 after acquiring an additional 137,725 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Employers by 166.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,581,000 after buying an additional 131,910 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Employers by 554.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 153,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,045,000 after buying an additional 130,206 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Employers news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $72,782.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,741 shares in the company, valued at $278,133.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Employers Stock Down 0.8 %

EIG stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,448. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.24. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.43 and a 52 week high of $46.78.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $223.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.46 million. Employers had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 10.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Employers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.42%.

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.