1,099 Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Acquired by Straightline Group LLC

Straightline Group LLC acquired a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,099 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after acquiring an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,521,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,323,018,000 after buying an additional 153,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $255.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $149.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.73. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,787 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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, BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.29.

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.