Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,068 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mercury General by 772.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 203,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,520. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Mercury General Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Mercury General had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 5.11%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid 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 1.98%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

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.