Parkwood LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Parkwood LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 48,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,658,000. Progressive makes up about 1.3% of Parkwood LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PGR. Barclays lifted their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.65.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $283.38 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.88. The company has a market capitalization of $166.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG 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 fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. 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.