15,897 Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Acquired by Sovereign s Capital Management LLC

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 15,897 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,000. Progressive accounts for about 2.4% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,795,262,000 after acquiring an additional 583,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,498,363,000 after acquiring an additional 189,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,480,677,000 after acquiring an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,451,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $285.93 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $167.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. 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 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.81.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at $66,616,766.16. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.65.

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.