Prudential Financial Inc. Has $5.30 Million Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,370 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Mercury General worth $5,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCY has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of MCY opened at $55.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.41 and its 200-day moving average is $62.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. Equities analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 15.03%.

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.