Mercury General Corporation $MCY Holdings Decreased by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 24.5%, selling 20,846 shares and retaining 64,330 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million.
• Mercury General recently announced a **quarterly dividend of $0.3175**, which equates to an annual yield of **1.6%**, with an ex-dividend date set for **September 11th**.
• Equities analysts have a **positive outlook** on Mercury General, with a consensus **"Strong Buy"** rating and a target price increase to **$90.00** following various upgrades from reputable firms.

Trexquant Investment LP trimmed its holdings in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 24.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,330 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 20,846 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.12% of Mercury General worth $3,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $141,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Mercury General by 745.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Mercury General by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $90.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

NYSE MCY traded down $1.38 on Friday, reaching $77.50. 200,881 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 217,015. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $71.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.98. Mercury General Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $2.77. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%. As a group, research analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

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

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.