D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 6,657 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 12.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,969 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,657 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned 0.09% of Mercury General worth $3,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 48,508 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $106,237,000 after acquiring an additional 88,954 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Mercury General by 3.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,333 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $16,491,000 after purchasing an additional 11,242 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Mercury General by 607.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,505,000 after purchasing an additional 184,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,492,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.1 %

MCY stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,612. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $36.81 and a 12 month high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered 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.