123,121 Shares in Mercury General Corporation $MCY Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 123,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,127,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $479,604,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,953,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,295,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $138,350,000 after buying an additional 232,721 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2,513.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,633,000 after buying an additional 151,852 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:MCY opened at $104.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. Mercury General Corporation has a 52 week low of $74.29 and a 52 week high of $113.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCY shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.