Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $2.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $242.17. 3,498,037 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,679,767. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $251.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.00. The firm has a market cap of $141.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $166.92 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PGR shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.