Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Takes Position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,104 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Finally, NDVR Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $71.58 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $66.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.65. 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 current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.96.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MCY. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday.

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.

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