Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,685 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $25,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $33,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Mercury General by 40.0% during the first 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, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 5,212.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.8 %

Mercury General stock opened at $53.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.80. Mercury General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.15 and a fifty-two week high of $54.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.02.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 2.08%. Analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

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.