The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 295.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive 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 $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $251.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.32. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $180.68 and a 12 month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.