Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 762,274 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,257 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Progressive worth $182,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $281.76.

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Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded up $4.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,223,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,388,837. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $287.49. The company has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $258.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.07.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. The trade was a 23.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.