Rational Advisors LLC Invests $3.39 Million in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 14,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,390,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after purchasing an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $103,990,000 after purchasing an additional 415,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $262.71 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $153.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’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 $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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % 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 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.