Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stock Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCY. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Mercury General by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 60,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 6.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Mercury General by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th.

Mercury General Price Performance

NYSE:MCY opened at $56.86 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $27.27 and a one year high of $57.12.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 4.48%. Equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

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.