Tidal Investments LLC Invests $325,000 in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 5,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 1,190.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Mercury General by 112.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mercury General by 72.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.3 %

MCY opened at $68.84 on Wednesday. Mercury General Co. has a one year low of $36.96 and a one year high of $80.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.47.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 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 analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

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.