1,278 Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Bought by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,278 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE PGR traded down $2.44 on Friday, hitting $246.78. 3,047,487 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,415,087. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $247.01 and a 200 day moving average of $244.75. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $176.37 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The company has a market capitalization of $144.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 34.32% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive 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 $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.71.

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.