Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 31,800 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 2.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,174,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 31,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $62,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,744 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,832,000 after acquiring an additional 14,688 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Mercury General by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,893,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,662,000 after acquiring an additional 79,659 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 132.3% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32,439 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $59.35 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $59.70 and its 200 day moving average is $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.