Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 77.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,576 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 68,890 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth $384,000. Convergence Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the first quarter valued at $232,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 218,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,513,000 after buying an additional 10,812 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 79,677 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,297,000 after acquiring an additional 17,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 5,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, 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 Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE:MCY traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $68.41. 461,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,334. Mercury General Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.56.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 5.11%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is currently 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.