The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,304 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,361 shares of company stock worth $11,302,675. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of PGR opened at $282.02 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $186.94 and a 52 week high of $282.40. 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 company has a market capitalization of $165.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $250.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.23.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

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.