Bank of America Corp DE Has $1.01 Million Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,191 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 25,577 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE's holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 75,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,013,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,816 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.1%

MCY traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.11. 321,984 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,546. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $44.19 and a one year high of $80.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.00.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) 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 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, equities research analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 24.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCY. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company 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 report 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.