Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 2,122 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,122 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.40% of Mercury General worth $11,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter valued at about $486,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in Mercury General by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 14,426 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Mercury General by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 23,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth $272,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of MCY traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 301,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,218. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $27.27 and a one year high of $60.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.29. Mercury General had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.47) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th.

Mercury General Company 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.