Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $24.61 Million Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 370,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,835 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.67% of Mercury General worth $24,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 328 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 772.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Up 5.2%

NYSE MCY opened at $60.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 0.90. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.84 and its 200-day moving average is $60.27. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $44.19 and a one year high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.00) by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General Company 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.