22,565 Mercury General Corporation $MCY Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its holdings in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 22,565 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $6,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point Nemo Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC now owns 13,911 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Mercury General by 290.7% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 461 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in Mercury General by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Mercury General by 11.3% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Mercury General by 77.8% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.5%

MCY opened at $83.97 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Mercury General Corporation has a one year low of $81.64 and a one year high of $113.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 10.47%. Analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post 13.32 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 17th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercury General news, Director Joshua Little purchased 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $82.69 per share, with a total value of $62,017.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $330,760. The trade was a 23.08% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Mercury General from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a property and casualty insurance company best known for its personal auto insurance. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company also offers homeowners, renters, commercial auto, and other insurance products, including umbrella coverage. Founded in 1961, Mercury distributes policies through independent agents and direct-to-consumer channels. California is its primary market, and the company also serves customers in other U.S. states.