Mercury General Corporation $MCY Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,740 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 223.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,004 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 16.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 470,905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,711,000 after acquiring an additional 65,441 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Mercury General in the third quarter valued at $3,141,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Mercury General in the third quarter valued at $4,722,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 63,899 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 13,937 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCY shares. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $90.50 on Monday. Mercury General Corporation has a 12 month low of $47.06 and a 12 month high of $100.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.