Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 957,693 Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 957,693 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $53,535,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 1.73% of Mercury General as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 218,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,513,000 after buying an additional 10,812 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 79,677 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,297,000 after buying an additional 17,370 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 5,652 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 319.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 35,470 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

NYSE:MCY traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 191,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,965. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $58.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.54.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. Analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.