Allstate Corp Takes $4.21 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 20.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 541.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Progressive by 2.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 17,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,464,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 90.9% in 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. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $279.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,084.80. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471 over the last quarter. 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.