Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sets New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $72.10 and last traded at $72.10, with a volume of 174 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $68.41.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Mercury General Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.81.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.29. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.36% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.47) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Mercury General by 7,606.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 53,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 52,638 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,049,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the first quarter worth approximately $486,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Mercury General by 20.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Mercury General by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 10,014 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.