SG Americas Securities LLC Has $139,000 Stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 75.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,607 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCY. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Mercury General by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Mercury General by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY stock opened at $53.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.58 and its 200-day moving average is $40.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $26.15 and a 1 year high of $53.54.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 1.17%. Equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.99%.

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.