Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 9,087 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,802 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,087 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCY has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.49. 156,730 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 692,238. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company 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 yield of 2.21%. Mercury General's payout ratio is 15.03%.

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.