The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,761 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $42,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter valued at $2,566,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $265.45 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,463,329.23. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.76.

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.