Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Mercury General by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Mercury General by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Mercury General by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Mercury General by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of MCY opened at $78.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.41 and its 200-day moving average is $61.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Mercury General Co. has a 12-month low of $36.37 and a 12-month high of $79.76.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.