Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $117.72 Million Holdings in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 2.4%, acquiring an additional 49,155 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2.1 million shares valued at $117.7 million.
• Mercury General reported a EPS of $2.67 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate of ($0.10), and its revenue was $1.48 billion, beating expectations as well.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175, with a dividend yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 18.04%, set to be paid to shareholders on September 25th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,105,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 49,155 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.80% of Mercury General worth $117,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 745.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 3,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Mercury General stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.35. 110,741 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 506,034. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.27. Mercury General Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.