14,286 Shares in Mercury General Corporation $MCY Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,286 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mercury General by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 51,336 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the second quarter worth about $479,604,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth approximately $538,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter worth approximately $5,429,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 32.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 62,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,481,000 after purchasing an additional 15,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $104.69 on Thursday. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $74.29 and a 1 year high of $113.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.79 and its 200-day moving average is $98.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Equities analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 7.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.