Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management decreased its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,640 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,950 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management owned 0.13% of Mercury General worth $4,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 772.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.8 %

Mercury General stock opened at $53.63 on Friday. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, research analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.

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