Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Position Boosted by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY – Get Rating) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 60.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 897 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 5,688.9% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 42.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCY shares. TheStreet raised shares of Mercury General from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Mercury General from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of MCY opened at $29.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. Mercury General Co. has a twelve month low of $26.15 and a twelve month high of $49.46.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -19.48%.

Mercury General Company Profile

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Mercury General Corp. operates as a broker and agency writer of automobile insurance. The firm engages in writing personal automobile insurance and provides related property and casualty insurance products to its customers. Its insurance products include private passenger automobile and related insurance products such as homeowners, commercial automobile and commercial property.