Sciencast Management LP Buys 1,543 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,617 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $3,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Progressive by 75.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $379,139,000 after acquiring an additional 641,943 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 36,819.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,145,000 after acquiring an additional 566,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 102.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $260,102,000 after acquiring an additional 518,262 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,084.80. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock valued at $16,877,471 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:PGR traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $272.49. 3,462,987 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,431,206. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $159.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $263.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

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.