Jane Street Group LLC Sells 65,396 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 90.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,177 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 65,396 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 772.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCY. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MCY traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 332,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,806. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.52.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 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.