Oak Thistle LLC Buys 5,934 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 190.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,056 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,934 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 0.6% of Oak Thistle LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.0 %

Progressive stock traded up $2.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $242.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,498,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,675,300. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $166.92 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.00.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

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.