MML Investors Services LLC Buys Shares of 4,219 Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 112.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 72.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Mercury General by 115.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In other news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $68.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.51. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $36.96 and a one year high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

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.