Zacks Investment Management Sells 5,950 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Zacks Investment Management lessened its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,640 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,950 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned approximately 0.13% of Mercury General worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mercury General by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,670,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $243,983,000 after purchasing an additional 165,629 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercury General by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 485,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,294,000 after buying an additional 4,372 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Mercury General by 94.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,276,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 302,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,121,000 after buying an additional 14,328 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MCY traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $54.39. The stock had a trading volume of 54,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,984. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $54.13 and its 200-day moving average is $61.16. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $44.19 and a one year high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

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.