Entropy Technologies LP Buys 1,418 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in 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 during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 114.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Progressive by 1,650.0% in 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. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research 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.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, 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 value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $250.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.60. The company has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $180.72 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

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.