AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires 200,787 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,410,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 200,787 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 1.6% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.24% of Progressive worth $337,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PGR traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $263.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,609,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,499,197. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $186.94 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $245.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.88. The company has a market cap of $154.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. 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 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.88.

Progressive Company 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.