Insider Buying: Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Director Buys 750 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Director Joshua Little bought 750 Mercury General shares at an average of $82.69, spending about $62,018. The purchase increased his holdings by 23.08% to 4,000 shares.
• Mercury General reported quarterly earnings of $3.49 per share, beating the $3.43 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.38 billion fell short of analysts’ $1.62 billion forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.5%. Analysts’ average rating was Buy, with an average price target of $100.

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) Director Joshua Little bought 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $82.69 per share, for a total transaction of $62,017.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $330,760. This trade represents a 23.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Mercury General Stock Performance

MCY stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $82.90. 446,952 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 282,748. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.64 and a 1 year high of $113.06. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $101.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 10.47%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is 10.94%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter worth about $479,604,000. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in Mercury General by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,154,504 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $189,920,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Mercury General by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,149,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $189,492,000 after acquiring an additional 46,559 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,295,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Mercury General by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 203,830 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $21,732,000 after acquiring an additional 33,617 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mercury General from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation is a property and casualty insurance company best known for its personal auto insurance. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company also offers homeowners, renters, commercial auto, and other insurance products, including umbrella coverage.

Founded in 1961, Mercury distributes policies through independent agents and direct-to-consumer channels. California is its primary market, and the company also serves customers in other U.S. states.

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