Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Director Joshua Eric Little Acquires 750 Shares of Stock

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) Director Joshua Little acquired 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $82.69 per share, for a total transaction of $62,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,760. The trade was a 23.08% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $82.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.57. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.64 and a 1 year high of $113.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.06. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 17th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 10.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports 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 cut shares of Mercury General from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Mercury General by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,284 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 0.9% in the third quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC now owns 13,911 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Mercury General by 1.0% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Mercury General by 0.5% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 35,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 0.6% during the third quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 26,650 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation is a property and casualty insurance company best known for its personal auto insurance. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company also offers homeowners, renters, commercial auto, and other insurance products, including umbrella coverage.

Founded in 1961, Mercury distributes policies through independent agents and direct-to-consumer channels. California is its primary market, and the company also serves customers in other U.S. states.