Zacks Investment Management Raises Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,590 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,648 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.14% of Mercury General worth $4,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 962.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 563 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Mercury General by 8,262.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 669 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $74.02. 224,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,047. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Mercury General Co. has a 12-month low of $36.96 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The business's fifty day moving average price is $70.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.22.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.59%.

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.