The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Lifted by Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after buying an additional 842,109 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after acquiring an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $222,207,000 after purchasing an additional 590,235 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE PGR traded down $3.91 on Friday, reaching $235.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,475,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,307,924. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $164.98 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $251.48 and its 200-day moving average is $240.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $137.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six equities 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.