Mercury General Corporation $MCY Stock Position Lessened by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 14.8%, now holding approximately $3.59 million worth of shares.
• Mercury General reported earnings of $2.67 EPS in its latest quarter, significantly exceeding estimates, with a projected -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 18.04%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,163 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Mercury General worth $3,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 745.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 3,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MCY traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 173,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,357. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.75. Mercury General Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.19 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $2.77. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%.The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCY. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.00.

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.