Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Purchases 9,600 Shares of Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 451.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,600 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCY. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 49,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 2.7% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 6,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Price Performance

NYSE MCY opened at $91.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.90. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $95.00.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 16.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

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.