Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $806,000 Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Mercury General by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Mercury General by 2.1% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Mercury General by 4.2% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.4 %

MCY stock opened at $66.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.80. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $35.47 and a 1 year high of $73.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

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.