Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 231 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th 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 bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of PGR opened at $270.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. 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 twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.95.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,463,329.23. The trade was a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.