BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Mercury General were worth $3,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCY. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 962.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MCY opened at $77.60 on Friday. Mercury General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.96 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Insider Activity at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Mercury General

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.