Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 69.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,280 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Mercury General by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Mercury General by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 21,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 7,763 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 valued at $33,028,000 after acquiring an additional 10,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Mercury General Stock Performance

NYSE MCY opened at $53.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.83. Mercury General Co. has a 1-year low of $26.15 and a 1-year high of $54.59.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $1.10. Mercury General had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 2.08%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.99%.

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.