The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Marshfield Associates

Marshfield Associates grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 870,221 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 4.7% of Marshfield Associates' investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Marshfield Associates owned about 0.15% of Progressive worth $220,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,626,840. This trade represents a 9.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $270.69.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $247.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,396,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,471,249. The firm's 50 day moving average is $254.52 and its 200 day moving average is $235.83. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $149.14 and a twelve month high of $270.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $144.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

About Progressive

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.