Legato Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,716 Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $976,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Mercury General by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Mercury General by 65.5% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mercury General by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MCY opened at $101.56 on Wednesday. Mercury General Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.62 and a 1-year high of $103.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.82.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35. Mercury General had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 8.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Company 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.