6,923 Shares in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Acquired by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 962.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 563 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Mercury General by 8,262.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 669 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter worth about $64,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.9 %

Mercury General stock traded down $2.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $74.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 224,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,047. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $36.96 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day moving average is $70.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th.

Insider Transactions at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 35.50% of the company's stock.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile, commercial property, mechanical protection, and umbrella insurance products. Its automobile insurance products include collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners insurance products comprise dwelling, liability, personal property, and other coverages.