Mercury General President Acquires 44,118% More Stock

Those following along with Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Victor Joseph, President of the company, who spent a stonking US$899k on stock at an average price of US$59.95. That purchase boosted their holding by 44,118%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Mercury General

Notably, that recent purchase by Victor Joseph is the biggest insider purchase of Mercury General shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$63.69. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Mercury General share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 16.50k shares worth US$992k. On the other hand they divested 1.08k shares, for US$83k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Mercury General insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Mercury General

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Mercury General

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Mercury General insiders own 52% of the company, worth about US$1.8b. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Mercury General Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Mercury General. That's what I like to see! While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Mercury General and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.