The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,879 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Progressive were worth $22,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,390,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 384.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP boosted its holdings in Progressive by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 1,182 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $1.68 on Friday, hitting $265.99. 2,567,348 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,505,890. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $246.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $186.94 and a 1-year high of $270.79.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.12.

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.