The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Boosted by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 105.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 28,036 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors' holdings in Progressive were worth $13,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,495 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,034 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Progressive Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of PGR stock traded down $10.93 on Wednesday, reaching $272.35. 2,676,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,397,761. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $159.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $259.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.57. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.76.

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.