Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 8,903 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lessened its position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,903 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Mercury General by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 15,898 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 20.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 1,753.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $515,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 37,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after buying an additional 8,578 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $74.02 on Tuesday. Mercury General Co. has a twelve month low of $36.96 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.59%.

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.