Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,176 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,989 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.15% of Mercury General worth $5,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Mercury General during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,068,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mercury General by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,670,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $243,983,000 after purchasing an additional 165,629 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,276,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Mercury General by 233.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,319 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,863,000 after purchasing an additional 93,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 117,381 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,803,000 after buying an additional 86,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.
View Our Latest Report on MCY
Mercury General Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:MCY traded down $1.04 on Thursday, hitting $52.00. 70,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,212. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.84. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.
Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 15.03%.
Mercury General Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More

Before you consider Mercury General, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Mercury General wasn't on the list.
While Mercury General currently has a Strong Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.