The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Increased by Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,343 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $22,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 995 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

PGR stock traded down $2.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $246.78. 3,047,487 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,415,087. The business's 50 day moving average price is $247.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $176.37 and a 52-week high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 34.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.71.

Progressive Profile

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.