The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’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 $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,361 shares of company stock worth $11,302,675 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.2 %

PGR opened at $282.02 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $282.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted 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%. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

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.