Mercury General Corporation $MCY Position Boosted by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 12.7%, now owning about $9.43 million worth of the company after purchasing an additional 18,948 shares in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Mercury General's stock rating to "buy", with a consensus target price of $90.00, significantly above its current trading value.
• Mercury General announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, yielding an annualized dividend of 1.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 11th.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,626 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 18,948 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Mercury General worth $9,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $384,000. Convergence Financial LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $232,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised 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 worth $14,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,812 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 49,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Mercury General currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $90.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 200,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,015. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.61.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.04%.

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.