Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,348 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.05% of Mercury General worth $1,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 142.1% in 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 607.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,505,000 after buying an additional 184,121 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Mercury General in the third quarter valued at $13,068,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,784,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of Mercury General stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 can be accessed through this link. 35.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of MCY stock opened at $49.42 on Monday. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $37.89 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.37. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

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.