Stevens Capital Management LP Increases Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 218.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,490 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 0.9% of Stevens Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PGR stock traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $274.57. 2,911,093 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,431,730. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $262.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.19. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.06.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,855 shares of company stock worth $16,767,455. 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.