Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $331,000 Investment in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,986 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Mercury General stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 355,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,477. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The firm's 50-day moving average is $53.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.32. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.