Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $3.57 Million Holdings in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 58.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,960 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management owned 0.07% of Mercury General worth $3,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MCY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of MCY opened at $104.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Mercury General Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.04 and a 52-week high of $107.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.47 and its 200-day moving average is $93.60.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.35. Mercury General had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.37%.

Mercury General Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.