Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Takes Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercury General by 145.1% in 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $50.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.17. Mercury General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. Analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.03%.

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.