Choate Investment Advisors Buys 28,036 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 105.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 54,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,036 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Progressive were worth $13,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,263,763,000 after acquiring an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,669,204,000 after acquiring an additional 170,618 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Progressive by 7.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Progressive by 21.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

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

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

About Progressive

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.