Mercury General Corporation $MCY Holdings Lifted by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 34.5%, acquiring an additional 9,006 shares, bringing its total holdings to 35,100 shares valued at approximately $1,962,000.
• Analysts have shown confidence in Mercury General, with several brokerages raising their ratings and target price, including a shift from "hold" to "buy" and a new target price of $90.00.
• Mercury General recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, with a yield of 1.6%, reflecting its financial health and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 34.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,006 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Mercury General worth $1,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,105,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $117,723,000 after purchasing an additional 49,155 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth $53,535,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth $27,485,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 405,464 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $22,665,000 after buying an additional 100,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 57.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 340,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,008,000 after buying an additional 123,440 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded up $2.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $82.06. 482,336 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 209,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Mercury General Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $82.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.09 and a 200-day moving average of $64.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCY shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

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.