Virtu Financial LLC Takes $331,000 Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,068,000. Phase 2 Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,254,000 after purchasing an additional 160,808 shares during the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $8,243,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 274.8% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 117,381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,803,000 after purchasing an additional 86,064 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P increased its stake in Mercury General by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 113,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,513,000 after purchasing an additional 52,789 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of MCY opened at $57.14 on Friday. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.33. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.