VELA Investment Management LLC Has $276,000 Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

VELA Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,397 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,628 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Mercury General by 7.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Mercury General by 57.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 21,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 7,763 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 600,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,028,000 after acquiring an additional 10,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MCY traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.89. 28,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 206,536. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89 and a beta of 0.80. Mercury General Co. has a 12 month low of $26.15 and a 12 month high of $53.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.29 and a 200 day moving average of $40.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 1.17%. On average, research analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.99%.

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.