Principal Securities Inc. Increases Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,186 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded down $1.79 on Thursday, reaching $267.83. 1,933,537 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,504,013. The company's 50-day moving average price is $246.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.36. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $186.94 and a fifty-two week high of $270.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 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 transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.12.

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.