Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Has $19.41 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,840 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $19,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 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 value of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,361 shares of company stock worth $11,302,675. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0 %

Progressive stock opened at $279.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $186.94 and a 52 week high of $280.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

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.