Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 8,903 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Quadrature Capital Ltd decreased its holdings in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 54.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,903 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter valued at $13,068,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 607.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,505,000 after buying an additional 184,121 shares during the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,254,000 after buying an additional 160,808 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter worth approximately $8,492,000. Finally, Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth $8,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE MCY opened at $74.02 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $36.96 and a 52 week high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.