Joseph Group Capital Management Boosts Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Joseph Group Capital Management grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,637 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 1.1% of Joseph Group Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Joseph Group Capital Management's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Progressive by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $103,990,000 after purchasing an additional 415,628 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,849,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Progressive by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,069,697 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,882,000 after buying an additional 249,958 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $2.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $281.38. 2,703,077 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,588,988. The company has a market cap of $164.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $266.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $281.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,255 shares of company stock valued at $17,250,271 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.