Royce & Associates LP Takes Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,607 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Mercury General by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 47,882 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Mercury General Trading Down 0.0 %

MCY stock traded down $0.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.65. The company had a trading volume of 310,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,656. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.40. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 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 stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MCY. 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General Company 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.