Savant Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Savant Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 33.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,015 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,445 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mercury General by 115.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 6,413 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 157.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Mercury General by 123.4% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 21,461 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 11,854 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the first quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.0%

MCY stock opened at $88.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.98. Mercury General Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.19 and a twelve month high of $88.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 16.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercury General currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

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.