Axecap Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Axecap Investments LLC boosted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 1.7% of Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Progressive by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Progressive by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 98.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 5,697 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $249.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.02. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $180.72 and a one year high of $270.62. The company has a market capitalization of $146.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.