Vise Technologies Inc. Invests $607,000 in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $479,604,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter valued at about $23,953,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter worth about $26,295,000. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 12.8% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,350,000 after acquiring an additional 232,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2,513.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,633,000 after acquiring an additional 151,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY opened at $106.22 on Tuesday. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $74.29 and a 1 year high of $113.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.46.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCY shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price 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.