Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 1,016 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,628,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 66.4% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Progressive by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $1,890,000. Finally, Sycomore Asset Management lifted its holdings in Progressive by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 28,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,856,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,400.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total transaction of $2,259,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,787 shares in the company, valued at $10,874,412.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,600,400.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,843 shares of company stock worth $18,674,912. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.19.

Progressive Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $243.78 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The stock has a market cap of $142.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $250.34 and its 200-day moving average is $225.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.91%.

Progressive 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.