Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,893,881 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 79,659 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.42% of Mercury General worth $70,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 383,735 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,756,000 after buying an additional 66,574 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 43,308 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 20,338 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $304,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $426,000. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at $387,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.8 %

Mercury General stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.11. The stock had a trading volume of 176,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,084. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.77. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $59.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.58 and a 200 day moving average of $45.38.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.63. Mercury General had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 4.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th.

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.