Blue Trust Inc. Has $122,000 Stock Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 68.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Mercury General by 12,340.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Mercury General by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 1,753.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $52.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.85. Mercury General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.03%.

Insider Transactions at Mercury General

In other news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of Mercury General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 35.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

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.