California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 319 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $1,683,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Mercury General by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,959,000 after acquiring an additional 13,495 shares during the last quarter. Western Standard LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,815,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Mercury General by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 24,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 9,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth about $925,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCY shares. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $65.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.47 and a 200-day moving average of $59.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.96.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.61%.

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.