Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $28.57 Million Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 429,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 26,082 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.78% of Mercury General worth $28,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCY stock opened at $57.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCY shares. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report 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.