Empower Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9,038.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 239,069 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $57,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth 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. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $265.99. 2,567,348 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,505,890. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $246.89 and its 200-day moving average is $248.87. The stock has a market cap of $155.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.12.

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.