Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 152.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCY. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 7,606.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 53,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 52,638 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,049,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter worth approximately $486,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 132.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 10,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $439,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MCY stock opened at $58.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.81. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $67.11.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.29. Mercury General had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.47) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

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.