Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 10,004 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 49.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,004 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Mercury General in the third quarter worth $13,068,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 607.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,505,000 after purchasing an additional 184,121 shares during the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 142.1% in the 3rd quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,254,000 after purchasing an additional 160,808 shares in the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,243,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Mercury General by 319.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 35,470 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY opened at $54.74 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.85. Mercury General Co. has a 52-week low of $43.79 and a 52-week high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. As a group, analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This is an increase from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCY shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

About Mercury General

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.