Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Stock Position Raised by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 40.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,030 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Mercury General by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after buying an additional 8,976 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Mercury General by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 58,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after buying an additional 3,958 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 8,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 783.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,164,000 after purchasing an additional 86,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of MCY opened at $47.61 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.56 and its 200-day moving average is $64.33. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $37.89 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Insider Activity at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th.

About Mercury General

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.