Invesco LLC Increases Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Invesco LLC grew its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,324 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $3.96 on Wednesday, reaching $249.01. 501,285 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,499,610. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $175.50 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.25. The company has a market cap of $145.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given 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 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,506 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,159. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.