The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by Mezzasalma Advisors LLC

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $250.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $180.72 and a 12-month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.