Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 89.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 124,554 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% during 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 period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.6 %

MCY traded down $0.88 on Friday, hitting $53.70. 64,014 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,934. 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 company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.06. Mercury General Co. has a twelve month low of $44.19 and a twelve month high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This is a boost from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

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.