The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Position Lifted by Aquatic Capital Management LLC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 6,701 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $9,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,795,262,000 after buying an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,498,363,000 after buying an additional 189,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $1,843,045,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Progressive by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Progressive by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,521,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,323,018,000 after buying an additional 153,044 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. This trade represents a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,749 shares of company stock valued at $14,472,513 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.41.

Progressive Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $6.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $276.37. 2,690,518 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,633,333. The business has a 50 day moving average of $274.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.70%.

Progressive Company 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.