Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,652 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Mercury General by 145.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Mercury General by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,816 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Mercury General by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

NYSE MCY traded up $0.44 on Friday, hitting $53.63. 384,437 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.81. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $54.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MCY. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General 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.