Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 8,347 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,347 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Mercury General worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,273,000 after acquiring an additional 15,264 shares in the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 142.1% in the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,254,000 after acquiring an additional 160,808 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 607.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,505,000 after acquiring an additional 184,121 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth approximately $13,068,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,784,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mercury General

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $52.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.47. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued 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 return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

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