Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,589 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 17,293 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.06% of Mercury General worth $2,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MCY shares. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a 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.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.2%

MCY traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.79. 204,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 406,955. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business 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 is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.61%.

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.