The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Shepherd Financial Partners LLC

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $250.64 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $180.72 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $245.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.36. The company has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.