Point72 Asset Management L.P. Grows Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 218,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,812 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.39% of Mercury General worth $14,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $59.83. The company had a trading volume of 38,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,238. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.97.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is currently 24.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.