Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 21,768 Shares of Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) by 579.7%, buying 21,768 shares to hold 25,523 shares worth about $2.40 million at quarter end.
• Analysts have largely upgraded the stock—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Strong Buy with a $100.00 consensus price target.
• Mercury General beat expectations last quarter with $3.66 EPS vs. $2.56 expected and $1.54B revenue vs. $1.37B expected, and reported a 20.74% return on equity.

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 579.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,523 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 21,768 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Mercury General were worth $2,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Mercury General by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,079,735 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $176,311,000 after buying an additional 9,278 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $138,350,000 after buying an additional 232,721 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Mercury General by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,060,000 after buying an additional 107,766 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Mercury General by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 560,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,756,000 after buying an additional 68,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Mercury General by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 390,810 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,133,000 after buying an additional 13,701 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mercury General has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MCY stock opened at $92.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $89.89 and its 200-day moving average is $88.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.91. Mercury General Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.46 and a 52-week high of $100.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is 13.00%.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company's product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.

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