Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,732 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,812 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Mercury General worth $2,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Mercury General by 1,190.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 115.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 12,340.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Mercury General by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 35.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered 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 lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.3 %

Mercury General stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.39. 706,828 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,057,873. The company's 50-day moving average is $56.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.41. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.85.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This is a boost from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

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.