Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mercury General by 2.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.15 million shares valued at about $189.5 million.
• Mercury General reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $3.50 per share versus estimates of $2.15 and revenue of $1.54 billion versus expectations of $1.46 billion.
• The stock was trading at $106.97 and carries a consensus analyst rating of Buy with a target price of $100, while the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.3175.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,149,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,559 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.88% of Mercury General worth $189,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,036,000 after buying an additional 20,115 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Mercury General by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 111,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,742 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Mercury General by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 194.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $106.97 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Mercury General Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.57 and a 52-week high of $113.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 32.94%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is 8.37%.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company's product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.

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