5,720 Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Purchased by Connective Portfolio Management LLC

Connective Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,720 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,371,000. Progressive makes up about 2.0% of Connective Portfolio Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE PGR traded up $2.27 on Thursday, reaching $244.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,127,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,514,521. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $166.92 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The stock's 50 day moving average is $251.06 and its 200-day moving average is $242.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $143.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.95 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

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.