Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,579 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,991 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,579 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Mercury General worth $8,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mercury General by 1,753.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new position in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth about $360,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 67.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 132.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 15,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of MCY stock opened at $53.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.40 and its 200 day moving average is $63.26. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.85.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research 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 announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. 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 is presently 15.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

About Mercury General

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.