American Century Companies Inc. Has $49.06 Million Position in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• American Century Companies increased its stake in Mercury General by 22.9% to 578,671 shares (about 1.04%), worth $49.06 million at the end of the quarter, reflecting rising institutional interest.
• Brokerages have recently upgraded MCY, leaving it with a consensus Strong Buy rating and an average target price of $100 after upgrades from Wall Street Zen and Zacks.
• Mercury General topped quarterly estimates with EPS of $3.66 (vs. $2.56 expected) and $1.54B in revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 (annualized $1.27, ~1.4% yield).

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 578,671 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 107,766 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of Mercury General worth $49,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 58.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,036,000 after buying an additional 20,115 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 111,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,742 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $236,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCY. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercury General currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.1%

MCY opened at $91.13 on Friday. Mercury General Corporation has a twelve month low of $47.06 and a twelve month high of $100.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.35 and a 200-day moving average of $86.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.92.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company's product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.

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