Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Makes New $7.25 Million Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 30,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,248,000. Progressive accounts for approximately 3.0% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 75.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $379,139,000 after acquiring an additional 641,943 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America cut their target price on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $279.13 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.82.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given 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 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.