Argentarii LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Argentarii LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,274,000. Progressive accounts for about 1.1% of Argentarii LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during 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 period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 269,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $279.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $164.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $254.23 and its 200-day moving average is $252.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $194.49 and a 52 week high of $287.49.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.59.

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.