1,689 Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Bought by Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,689 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Progressive by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $379,139,000 after acquiring an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 29,701.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 102.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $260,102,000 after purchasing an additional 518,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company'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 $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $5.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,450,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,483,685. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $186.94 and a 1-year high of $270.79. The company has a market capitalization of $158.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.21.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.88.

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.