Key Points
- Director Joshua Little bought 750 Mercury General shares at an average $82.69 each, spending about $62,018. The purchase increased his direct stake by 23.08% to 4,000 shares.
- Mercury General reported quarterly EPS of $3.49, beating the $3.43 analyst consensus, while revenue of $1.38 billion fell short of the $1.62 billion estimate.
- The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, equivalent to $1.27 annually and a 1.5% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was Buy, with an average price target of $100.
Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) Director Joshua Little purchased 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $82.69 per share, for a total transaction of $62,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,760. This trade represents a 23.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Mercury General Trading Up 0.3%
Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $82.90 on Tuesday. Mercury General Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.64 and a 12-month high of $113.06. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $100.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.57.
Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 10.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.
Mercury General Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 17th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 17th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.94%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mercury General from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Mercury General
Institutional Trading of Mercury General
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mercury General by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,042 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,798 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 0.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 35,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter valued at about $4,472,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 154.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 840 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 54.3% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Mercury General
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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