KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Mercury General by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Trading Up 7.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCY traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $53.18. 571,010 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,468. The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.84. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This is a boost from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCY shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.