Northern Trust Corp Has $18.57 Million Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,271 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,177 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.50% of Mercury General worth $18,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mercury General by 772.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Mercury General stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Monday, hitting $61.07. 552,625 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 406,314. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Mercury General Co. has a twelve month low of $44.19 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.00.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities research analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is 24.61%.

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.