Plancorp LLC Purchases 83 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Plancorp LLC grew its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 55,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,304,000 after acquiring an additional 17,545 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Progressive by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 64,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,553,000 after acquiring an additional 34,897 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP grew its position in shares of Progressive by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 12,617 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 10,794 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,586,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 268,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $273.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $261.96 and a 200-day moving average of $255.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.