Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $117.72 Million Stock Position 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 grew its position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,105,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,155 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.80% of Mercury General worth $117,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth $113,252,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth $53,535,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth $27,485,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 370,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $24,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 279,271 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,566,000 after acquiring an additional 7,177 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Mercury General Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MCY stock traded down $0.34 on Thursday, reaching $77.28. 185,567 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,242. Mercury General Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.56.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

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

Mercury General Company 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.