Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 30,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,248,000. Progressive comprises approximately 3.0% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

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

Progressive Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $3.59 on Wednesday, reaching $280.70. 1,291,437 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,583,554. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $266.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $164.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock valued at $17,250,271. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.