3,251 Shares in Mercury General Corporation $MCY Acquired by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL acquired 3,251 shares of Mercury General Corporation, adding approximately $219,000 to its investment in the insurance provider during the second quarter.
• Mercury General reported a $2.67 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations by $2.77, with total revenue of $1.48 billion.
• The firm's quarterly dividend was recently announced at $0.3175 per share, offering a dividend yield of 1.6% and reflecting a payout ratio of 18.04%.

Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,251 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter worth $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth $141,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Mercury General by 745.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 24.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of MCY stock opened at $79.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $87.67. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.98.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $2.77. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 18.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

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.

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