Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,837 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $7,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $325,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,273,000 after purchasing an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 319.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 35,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth $266,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.2 %

MCY stock opened at $66.48 on Wednesday. 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 $36.96 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.90.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.