OFI Invest Asset Management Acquires New Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 205,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,634,000. Progressive comprises about 1.1% of OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 269,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,462,306.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $279.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $194.49 and a 12-month high of $287.49. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $254.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.70.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.