Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Holdings Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 94.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 304,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $20,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,273,000 after acquiring an additional 15,264 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 302,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,121,000 after purchasing an additional 14,328 shares during the period. Phase 2 Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 142.1% in the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,254,000 after purchasing an additional 160,808 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter worth approximately $13,068,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mercury General by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,784,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:MCY opened at $56.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCY shares. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

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.