UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 13,495 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,555 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 13,495 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.11% of Mercury General worth $3,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCY. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,670,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $243,983,000 after acquiring an additional 165,629 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,276,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Western Standard LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,815,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 216,589 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,399,000 after acquiring an additional 101,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCY. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.37. The company had a trading volume of 157,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,335. Mercury General Co. has a twelve month low of $44.19 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $57.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.00.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.61%.

Mercury General 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.