Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 319.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,470 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.08% of Mercury General worth $2,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Mercury General by 1,190.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Mercury General by 112.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 72.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 115.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the company'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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 35.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.84. 114,179 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 241,595. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $36.96 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.