Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Acquired by Algert Global LLC

Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,415 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,329 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MCY. StockNews.com raised Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Mercury General stock traded up $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $61.86. The stock had a trading volume of 82,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,289. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.25. 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 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is currently 24.61%.

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.