Panagora Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Mercury General Corporation by 82.2%, selling 137,321 shares in the first quarter, now owning only 29,706 shares valued at approximately $1.66 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including NDVR Inc. and Federated Hermes Inc., have increased their stakes in Mercury General, signifying confidence in the company, which is currently 42.39% owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Mercury General recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 18.04%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 82.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,706 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 137,321 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.05% of Mercury General worth $1,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth approximately $141,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Mercury General by 745.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Mercury General by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the first quarter valued at $205,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $90.00.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.1%

MCY traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $77.37. The company had a trading volume of 60,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,573. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.04%.

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.