The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Holdings Lifted by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. increased its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 27,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,642 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,342,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 110,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,398,000 after acquiring an additional 17,692 shares in the last quarter. Taika Capital LP purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $350,000. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’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 $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $277.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $255.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $195.57 and a 12 month high of $287.49. The company has a market cap of $162.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PGR. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.59.

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.