Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $669,000 Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,067 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,004 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 142.1% during the 3rd quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,254,000 after buying an additional 160,808 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 607.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,505,000 after buying an additional 184,121 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,068,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,784,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE MCY traded down $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.75. The stock had a trading volume of 252,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,233. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day moving average price is $58.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.72. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in 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 upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.