The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Bank lifted 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $273.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $186.94 and a 1-year high of $280.25. 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 $248.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 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 $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.