Western Standard LLC Buys Shares of 147,643 Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 147,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,815,000. Mercury General makes up about 6.5% of Western Standard LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Western Standard LLC owned 0.27% of Mercury General at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 75,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,013,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. NDVR Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,816 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MCY traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.79. 204,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,879. Mercury General Co. has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. 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, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th 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 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 24.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Company 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.