Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $2.38 Million Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 123.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,743 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.06% of Mercury General worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock traded up $1.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $54.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 417,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,322. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $54.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.94. 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 $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.81.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast 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. 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 2.31%. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

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.