The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Increased by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,680 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 49,747 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,920,000 after purchasing an additional 5,907 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 13,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,307,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 1,011 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $266.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,214,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,463,741. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $186.94 and a fifty-two week high of $270.79. 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 market cap of $156.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $246.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC lowered 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.