United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 951 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,096 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $4,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $103,990,000 after acquiring an additional 415,628 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 42.3% in the 4th 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 249,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at $35,253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 3.5 %

NYSE:PGR traded down $9.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $265.45. 3,648,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,730. The stock has a market cap of $155.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $273.91 and a 200 day moving average of $257.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Barclays increased their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.76.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $142,324.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. This trade represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.