Gunderson Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Gunderson Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,337 shares during the period. Mercury General comprises approximately 2.0% of Gunderson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Mercury General worth $3,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the second quarter worth about $515,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 7,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 20.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,800,000 after buying an additional 8,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of Mercury General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $47.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.87. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $37.89 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Mercury General 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.