The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 280,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,073 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises about 1.9% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Progressive were worth $67,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $245.57 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $250.72 and a 200-day moving average of $242.01. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $166.92 and a 52-week 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 has a market capitalization of $143.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.52 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

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.