Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 6,292 Shares of Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,292 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $2,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Mercury General by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 194.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE MCY opened at $106.32 on Tuesday. Mercury General Corporation has a one year low of $73.05 and a one year high of $113.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

About Mercury General

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.