Mercury General Corporation $MCY Shares Acquired by Ieq Capital LLC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 78.6%, now owning approximately 31,128 shares valued at $1.74 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Envestnet Asset Management and NDVR Inc., also boosted their positions in Mercury General, contributing to institutional investors owning 42.39% of the company's stock.
• Mercury General Corporation recently received upgrades from analysts, with one citing a buy rating and a price target increase to $90.00.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 78.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,698 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Mercury General worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. NDVR Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 14.7% during the first quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 3,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,233 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

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

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

Mercury General Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.00.

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.