Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 3,575 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Graham Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 43.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,575 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCY. StockNews.com upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.2%

MCY stock opened at $61.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.62 and its 200-day moving average is $60.08.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.61%.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.