Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 5,212.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 5.9% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Mercury General Price Performance

Mercury General stock opened at $53.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $57.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.46 and a 200-day moving average of $42.11.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 2.08%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.99%.

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.