By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR – Free Report) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $80,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.06.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PGR
Progressive Stock Down 0.6 %
Shares of PGR opened at $273.08 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.01. The firm has a market cap of $160.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.
Progressive (NYSE:PGR – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.
Progressive Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,546,174.02. This represents a 5.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,495 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,034. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Progressive
The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.
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