6,100 Shares in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Acquired by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,273,000 after acquiring an additional 15,264 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Mercury General by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 302,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,121,000 after purchasing an additional 14,328 shares during the period. Phase 2 Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,254,000 after buying an additional 160,808 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter worth $13,068,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,784,000 after acquiring an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.7 %

Mercury General stock opened at $53.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.85. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.28.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This is an increase from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mercury General 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.