The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,836 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $30,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in Progressive by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,692 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 100.3% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the firm’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 $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,935,250. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,506 shares of company stock worth $13,031,159 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $249.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $145.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $247.67 and a 200-day moving average of $244.27. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $176.37 and a 52-week high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released 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 34.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 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.