Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. cut its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,041 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,916 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Mercury General were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Mercury General Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MCY traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.24. 10,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,578. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.52. Mercury General Co. has a twelve month low of $44.19 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 0.81.

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Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered 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 lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.