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

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Mercury General Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 347,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,870. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.00.

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. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCY shares. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock 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 report on Monday, May 12th.

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.