Jennison Associates LLC Buys Shares of 13,530 Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,049,000 after acquiring an additional 48,508 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Mercury General by 4.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,237,000 after purchasing an additional 88,954 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Mercury General by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,491,000 after purchasing an additional 11,242 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Mercury General by 607.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,505,000 after purchasing an additional 184,121 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,492,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.1 %

Mercury General stock opened at $77.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.80. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $36.37 and a 1-year high of $77.48.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

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.