The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 103.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,419 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Progressive were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,498,363,000 after buying an additional 189,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,951,899 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $946,915,000 after acquiring an additional 115,681 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,463,329.23. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. The trade was a 12.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $257.27 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $150.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.29.

About Progressive

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.