Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,731 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 77,807 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned 0.24% of Mercury General worth $8,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 772.9% during 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 acquired a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.3%

MCY traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,554. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business's 50-day moving average is $55.30 and its 200-day moving average 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for 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 predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 24.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Mercury General 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.