The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by Diversified Enterprises LLC

Diversified Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Progressive by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 36,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,145,000 after buying an additional 566,656 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total value of $344,787.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 28,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,978,433. This trade represents a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $283.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $258.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

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.