CIBC Asset Management Inc Takes $211,000 Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 3,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Mercury General by 962.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Mercury General by 8,262.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MCY opened at $77.29 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.81. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $36.37 and a 12-month high of $77.48.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 12.59%.

Mercury General 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.