Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,062 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $273.08 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (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, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $435,861.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.06.

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.