Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,058 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,061 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $37,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $6.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $287.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,667,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,588,370. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $267.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.52. The company has a market cap of $168.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.06.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock valued at $17,250,271. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.