Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Acquired by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 123.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,743 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.06% of Mercury General worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCY. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mercury General by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,670,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $243,983,000 after buying an additional 165,629 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,276,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 233.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,319 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,863,000 after purchasing an additional 93,283 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Mercury General by 274.8% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 117,381 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,803,000 after purchasing an additional 86,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $5,651,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:MCY traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.52. The stock had a trading volume of 283,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,687. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.34 and a 200 day moving average of $60.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 0.81. 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 data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCY. StockNews.com downgraded Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.