UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stake in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,624 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $5,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCY. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the second quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter worth approximately $726,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,027,000. Finally, PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Mercury General stock opened at $102.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Corporation has a one year low of $74.29 and a one year high of $113.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCY. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mercury General has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.