Telligent Fund LP Invests $1.44 Million in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Telligent Fund LP bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000. Progressive comprises approximately 1.4% of Telligent Fund LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 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 value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $251.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.32. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $180.68 and a 52 week high of $270.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $147.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

About Progressive

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.