Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 50,341 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Brandes Investment Partners LP trimmed its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 43.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 65,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 50,341 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $3,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 962.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Mercury General by 8,262.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 112.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MCY stock opened at $62.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.81. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $67.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.01 and its 200 day moving average is $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during 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 last year, the company posted ($0.47) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

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.