Interval Partners LP Buys 8,254 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Interval Partners LP grew its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,161 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,254 shares during the quarter. Interval Partners LP owned approximately 0.16% of Mercury General worth $6,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mercury General by 145.1% in the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mercury General by 772.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.84. The company had a trading volume of 242,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,554. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $55.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.25.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 24.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday.

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.