Polymer Capital Management US LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 1.0 %

Progressive stock traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $275.78. 3,052,599 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,646,373. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $271.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.23. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

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Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.71.

Progressive Profile

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.