Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 8,347 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,042 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,347 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Mercury General worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCY. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Mercury General by 12,340.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Mercury General by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Mercury General Stock Up 1.3 %

MCY stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.39. 706,828 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,873. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $56.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.41.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This is a positive change from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MCY shares. StockNews.com cut Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.