KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth $13,068,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 304,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,276,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Mercury General by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 117,381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,803,000 after purchasing an additional 86,064 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 113,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,513,000 after purchasing an additional 52,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,595,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY stock opened at $50.35 on Friday. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 15.03%.

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.