Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,683,000.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 218,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,812 shares during the period. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $424,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 79,677 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,297,000 after purchasing an additional 17,370 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 5,652 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCY shares. Raymond James upgraded 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.
View Our Latest Research Report on Mercury General
Mercury General Stock Up 3.6%
MCY stock traded up $2.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.94. 337,146 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,596. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Co. has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.
Mercury General Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.61%.
About Mercury General
(
Free Report)
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.
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