Intech Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,811 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $168,049,000 after acquiring an additional 48,508 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mercury General by 132.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 15,898 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Mercury General by 20.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mercury General by 1,753.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at $515,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.96. 153,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,612. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.36. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $36.81 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday.

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.