Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Shares Sold by Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.

Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,049,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 4.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,237,000 after acquiring an additional 88,954 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Mercury General by 3.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,491,000 after acquiring an additional 11,242 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Mercury General by 607.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,505,000 after acquiring an additional 184,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,492,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $77.27 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.81. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $36.37 and a 1 year high of $77.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released 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. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.