Mercury Insurance 2012 Annual Report Download - page 47

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26
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity
Securities
Market Information
The following table presents the high and low sales price per share on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: MCY) since
January 2011.
2012 High Low
1st Quarter $ 46.76 $ 42.65
2nd Quarter $ 46.04 $ 41.00
3rd Quarter $ 42.32 $ 36.01
4th Quarter $ 43.21 $ 38.21
2011 High Low
1st Quarter $ 43.94 $ 37.29
2nd Quarter $ 41.92 $ 38.06
3rd Quarter $ 40.43 $ 33.81
4th Quarter $ 46.61 $ 37.01
The closing price of the Company’s common stock on February 1, 2013 was $40.34.
Holders
As of February 1, 2013, there were approximately 143 holders of record of the Company’s common stock.
Dividends
Since the public offering of its common stock in November 1985, the Company has paid regular quarterly dividends on its
common stock. During 2012 and 2011, the Company paid dividends on its common stock of $2.4425 and $2.41 per share,
respectively. On February 1, 2013, the Board of Directors declared a $0.6125 quarterly dividend payable on March 28, 2013 to
shareholders of record on March 14, 2013.
For financial statement purposes, the Company records dividends on the declaration date. The Company expects to continue
paying quarterly dividends; however, the continued payment and amount of cash dividends will depend upon the Company’s
operating results, overall financial condition, capital requirements, and general business conditions.
Holding Company Act
The California Companies are subject to California DOI regulation pursuant to the provisions of the Holding Company
Act. The Holding Company Act requires disclosure of any material transactions among affiliates within a Holding Company
System. Certain transactions and dividends defined to be of an “extraordinary” type may not occur if the California DOI disapproves
the transaction within 30 days after notice. An extraordinary dividend is a dividend which, together with other dividends or
distributions made within the preceding 12 months, exceeds the greater of 10% of the insurance company’s statutory policyholders’
surplus as of the preceding December 31 or the insurance company’s statutory net income for the preceding calendar year.
The Insurance Companies are required to notify the California DOI of any dividend after declaration, but prior to
payment. There are similar limitations imposed by other states on the Insurance Companies’ ability to pay dividends. As of
December 31, 2012, the Insurance Companies are permitted to pay in 2013, without obtaining DOI approval for extraordinary
dividends, $154.6 million in dividends to Mercury General, of which $133.9 million is payable from the California Companies.
For a discussion of certain restrictions on the payment of dividends to Mercury General by some of its insurance subsidiaries,
see Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder returns on the Company’s Common Stock (Symbol: MCY)
with the cumulative total returns on the Standard and Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index (“S&P 500 Index”) and the Company’s