Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $76.44 Million Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,149,882 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 2.08% of Mercury General worth $76,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,670,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $243,983,000 after purchasing an additional 165,629 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,273,000 after acquiring an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 485,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,276,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Mercury General by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 302,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,121,000 after purchasing an additional 14,328 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCY traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,516. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Mercury General Co. has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.02 and its 200 day moving average is $61.58.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 15.03%.

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.