Fmr LLC Has $326,000 Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Fmr LLC raised its position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 463.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 962.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter worth $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 8,262.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Mercury General by 112.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mercury General

In other news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $68.19 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.08. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $36.96 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.84.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

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.