Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,545 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $13,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $273.08 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $160.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.06.

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.