Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases 19,674 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 75.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,768 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 19,674 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.08% of Mercury General worth $3,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,273,000 after purchasing an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Mercury General by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 302,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,121,000 after acquiring an additional 14,328 shares during the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 142.1% in the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,254,000 after acquiring an additional 160,808 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth about $13,068,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,784,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Mercury General Stock Up 1.6 %

MCY traded up $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.85. The stock had a trading volume of 456,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,291. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average is $53.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.95. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $44.19 and a one year high of $80.72.

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

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCY. StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.