Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Invests $798,000 in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 12,340.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.78. 49,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,455. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $53.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.80. 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.

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Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCY shares. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

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.