Squarepoint Ops LLC Raises Stock Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,699 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,871 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,670,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $243,983,000 after buying an additional 165,629 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,276,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 216,589 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,399,000 after buying an additional 101,488 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 233.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,319 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,863,000 after buying an additional 93,283 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:MCY traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $65.33. 563,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,983. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. As a group, analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General 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.