Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) by 274.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,064 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $7,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 132.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 15,898 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mercury General by 12,340.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $852,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Performance

NYSE:MCY opened at $57.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.80. Mercury General Co. has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Company 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.