Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 319.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,470 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $2,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at $266,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at $729,000. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 76,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 7,648 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 72,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,571,000 after buying an additional 27,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phase 2 Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,254,000 after buying an additional 160,808 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.3 %

Mercury General stock opened at $68.84 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.96 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.47.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

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 Wednesday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

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.