The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 128.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,741 shares in the company, valued at $6,935,250. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $257.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $180.72 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.71.

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.