D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 3,756 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,756 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned about 0.08% of Mercury General worth $2,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 12,340.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY stock opened at $52.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.85. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 15.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mercury General 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.