Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $1.01 Million Stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 12,340.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 1,753.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 113.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 accessible through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Mercury General Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $53.88 on Monday. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.28.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This is an increase from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.