LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,728 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,463,329.23. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.76.

Progressive Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of PGR traded down $9.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.45. The company had a trading volume of 3,648,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,852. 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 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $273.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.76. The stock has a market cap of $155.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.70%.

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.