Geode Capital Management LLC Has $41.41 Million Stock Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 622,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 736 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.12% of Mercury General worth $41,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Mercury General by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.2 %

Mercury General stock opened at $52.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.81. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.3175 dividend. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCY. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

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.