American National Bank & Trust Invests $303,000 in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• American National Bank & Trust invested approximately $303,000 in Mercury General Corporation by acquiring 4,500 shares in the second quarter.
• Mercury General reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.67, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside revenues of $1.48 billion.
• Raymond James Financial raised its target price for Mercury General shares to $100.00, reiterating a "strong-buy" rating.

American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 2.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,105,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $117,723,000 after acquiring an additional 49,155 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $53,535,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $27,485,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 32.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 405,464 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $22,665,000 after purchasing an additional 100,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 57.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 340,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,008,000 after purchasing an additional 123,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of MCY stock opened at $83.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.22. Mercury General Corporation has a one year low of $44.19 and a one year high of $83.22.

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

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General 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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