Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 933.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $267.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $246.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.49. 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 market cap of $156.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $186.94 and a twelve month high of $270.79.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.12.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade 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 have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.