Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,747 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,907 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $11,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Progressive by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,286,036,000 after buying an additional 330,667 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $103,990,000 after acquiring an additional 415,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of PGR traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $267.02. 1,214,678 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,463,741. The company has a market capitalization of $156.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $246.61 and a 200 day moving average of $248.49. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 of the company's stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.12.

Progressive Company 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.