Dakota Wealth Management Invests $598,000 in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Mercury General by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 3.7% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.9% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 154 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 research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

NYSE:MCY opened at $87.70 on Tuesday. Mercury General Corporation has a 12-month low of $47.06 and a 12-month high of $100.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s 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.